


Still Waters Run Deep

by Rejah



Category: One Piece
Genre: Deep Sea, Friends With Benefits, Heart Pirates - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-02-18 01:21:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13089456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rejah/pseuds/Rejah
Summary: As Law confides in Penguin that he wants to dissipate the crew as soon as they have defeated Kaido, Penguin does something that surprises them both. But he can't take back what he has done. His best friend Shachi urges him to follow his heart, even if it breaks his own at the same time. Meanwhile, the Polar Tang comes across a mysterious city in the deep sea.





	1. Chapter 1

Penguin looked shocked at his captain. The bottle of beer he was holding in his hand was about to slip away. Around him his crew was celebrating the save return of their captain; beer and sake running en masse. Some of the Strawhats were traveling with them on the Polar Tang and were competing with Shachi, the heaviest drinker of them all.

Penguin blinked. Surely he had misheard. He couldn‘t be serious.

„What did you say?“ he asked him. Just to be sure.

Trafalgar Law took a sip of his drink – apparently nothing alcoholic – and gave him an exhausted look.

„I don‘t know why I should repeat myself, when you‘ve clearly heard me, but I will entertain you,“ he said bored. „When we‘ve defeated Kaido I‘ll dissipate the crew.“

Nobody else had heard him; the others' chit-chat and laughter drowning out Law‘s quiet, but determined voice. Pen looked at him flabbergasted.

„Now don‘t look at me like that, Pen.“ Law rolled his eyes. „First of all, I’m not even sure if we‘re capable of defeating Kaido in the first place. But we have Straw Hat on our side and after what I have witnessed on Dressrosa I think our chances are a bit better.“

„But why should we go separate ways then?“ Penguin’s hold on the bottle tightened and he ducked down, hiding his face beneath his large hat. It had been years he had been traveling with Law; he had been one of the first of the crew. Together with Shachi, whom he knew ever since he could remember, and Bepo they effectively were the founding members of the Heart Pirates. And Law didn‘t want all of that anymore?

Law just shrugged his shoulders.

„I‘ve achieved my only goal. While Doflamingo isn‘t dead, he is neutralized. And if we‘re able to stop Kaido now, I no longer have any reason to be a pirate.“

„But-“

„Now leave it!“ Law whispered and Penguin immediately shut up. „I made this decision a long time ago. Nothing you say can change that.“ He turned away from him and watched the rest of the crew partying. „We‘re lucky if we even survive the battle with Kaido.“

The party continued for hours, but Penguin couldn‘t concentrate fully on it. The captain had left after a while and probably had secluded himself in his rooms, unnoticed by the others. He watched the hunk of a cyborg guzzle vast quantities of cola while the black haired woman silently observed her surroundings, occasionally laughing at a joke of her neighbor.

„Hey, earth to Pen, earth to Pen!“

Somebody tried to get his attention by swishing a finger in front of his nose. Irritated he grabbed the hand and pulled Shachi down to him. His best buddy was more than just tipsy, his cheeks reddened from alcohol and his eyes glossy.

„Found your master, didn‘t ya?“ he teased him, but actually he didn‘t feel like talking to him. Would their captain really be capable of dissipating all of this?

„Hey, what‘s wrong?“ Shachi laid an arm around him and pulled him close. Penguin leaned his head against his shoulder and closed his eyes. The world tilted.

„I have to tell you something.“

Shachi made an encouraging noise, but remained silent otherwise. They were best friends since – he couldn‘t actually remember. Shachi had always been there for him and he couldn‘t remember a time where he wasn‘t by his side.

„Once we defeat Kaido,“ he murmured into Shachi‘s neck, „the captain wants to sever all ties with us.“

Shachi stiffened next to him and Penguin knew that it took almost all of his willpower not to shout out loud. It wouldn‘t do to worry the other crew members. The two of them had always helped their Captain through the most difficult times and this time wouldn‘t be anything else. At least Penguin tried to tell himself that.

„What do ya wanna do?“ Shachi whispered into his ear and a plan formed in his mind.

 

Later that evening, Penguin knocked on his captain’s door. Only a few of the crew were still partying, but most of them had retreated into their cabins, sleeping off their buzz. He nervously wrung his hands behind his straight back. Shachi had told him to talk to Law alone, as he was the only one he’d confided in. That surely had to mean something. Or so he’d said. But maybe he was just available and his captain a bit drunk – surely he had to be be asleep right now. What was he thinking, knocking on his door in the middle of the night? Kaido was a few weeks away and there was no need to rush things. If anything, he’d alienate his captain by robbing him of the few precious hours of sleep-

The door opened. The hinges creaked loudly trough the hallway and the tired face of his captain stared at him unimpressed.

“What do you want?” His voice was like sandpaper, rough and deep. He’d been asleep.

„Sorry.” Penguin gulped and retreated a step. „I’ll come back tomorrow morning. With coffee!“ He tried to smile and wave it off, but Law just huffed exasperated.

„Now that you woke me, you may as well tell me what’s going on.“ He leaned on the door frame, long legs crossed elegantly over another. His shirt – the same one he had on this evening – rode up a bit and revealed the dark skin beneath.

Penguin balled his hands into fists.

„Please don’t dissipate the crew!“ he spat out and watched as Law’s eyes widened and then narrowed, his mouth a thin line.

„I’ve already told you to stop with this bullshit. Or have I made a mistake in telling you?“

He couldn’t stop here now. Normally he would take Law’s words as an order, but these were no normal circumstances. So he stepped over the line which separated a normal crew member from a captain.

„Don’t you remember all those fights we fought for you?“ It was unfair, but true. Law blanched as he realized that he wouldn’t stop just because he told him so. „There’s nowhere we can go. We have no families to return to, no job we could do. Most of us will still be targeted by the marines, no matter where we go! What should we do, wandering about the seas without you?“

„Exactly,“ Law croaked. „If you still want to be a pirate, I won’t hinder you. Take this crew, if you want to. You can even be captain.“

Oh, that was just too cruel.

„I don’t want to be captain! I want you!“ Penguin exclaimed and rushed forward.

He tumbled into his captain and they nearly fell to the floor, but Law grabbed the door frame with both hands and managed to hold them both up. Panic zipped through his veins and he looked in his captain’s face, golden eyes wide and surrounded by olive skin, and suddenly there was no thought left in his brain, he bent forward and kissed him full on the lips.

The contact remained just for the split of a second. Then, suddenly, he felt the telltale pull behind his navel and as he opened his eyes he wasn’t surprised that he was out on the hallway, but in a totally different part of the submarine than before. Law had shambled him away from him. He wondered what lay in front of the captain’s quarters now, the substitute he must have used.

Fuck, had he really kissed him?

He picked himself up and stood on shaky legs, supporting himself against the wall. He wasn’t too far from his own cabin and slowly moved trough the deserted hallway. How could he mend this? He hadn’t meant to kiss him, his captain! He didn’t even know where that had come from.

His lips still tingled with the sensation of Law’s mouth against his. He had been to shocked to feel anything, just the smallest bit of pressure, before he had been shambled away.

Much too soon he came to a halt in front of the door leading to his destination. He pushed it open tiredly and was greeted by Shachi, who was lying on his bed.

“How did it go?” the redhead asked and pushed himself up on his forearms.

“Don’t ask.”

He let himself fall next to the other and snuggled up to him. Shachi snaked an arm around him and teased, “Oooh, now I really wanna know! Where’s that cute blush coming from?”

He poked his nose with his index finger and Penguin evaded him by shoving his face into his clothed chest, his hat slipping from his head. Shachi took it and put it down on the pillow next to him. Penguin felt him ruffling his hair.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Shachi asked. Penguin let out a huff.

“Me, obviously.” Shachi didn’t say anything and Penguin let out a shuddering breath. “I kissed Law.”

Shachi tensed.

“What?”

“You heard me.” Penguin muttered and wished he could take it back. His words, the kiss. Shachi put a finger beneath his chin and forced him to look up. His brown eyes looked serious.

“Why?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t ask me.”

“Do you have a thing for him?”

Now that got his attention. He didn’t know if he had a thing for him. He liked men, that wasn’t news for him or Shachi. But had he just kissed him on impulse or did the root of the problem lie deeper? All he could safely say was that his heart ached at the thought of Law leaving the crew, dissipating it, as if the years shared with them meant nothing to him.

He finally decided on an answer.

“Maybe.”

Shachi’s grin was wide and catlike, showing of glinting white teeth in the dark of their room.

“Oooh, you got it bad,” he teased and Penguin shoved his shoulder.

“Shut up, idiot! What should I do?”

“Isn’t that obvious? If you have the hots for him, go for it! Confess your love for him, kiss him again, shove a hand down his-”

“Stop it!” Penguin couldn’t keep the grin of his face. Shachi was simply ridiculous. They stared at each other, grinning. “First of all, I don’t even know if I love him. That’s a pretty big word, don’t you think? But before you blab anymore, fine, I will go see him. Maybe talk to him first.”

“See if you haven’t shocked him into stone.”

“Very funny, Shachi.”

Shachi’s mouth pulled into a smile and he pulled him close.

“Until that’s settled … do you wanna continue with me?” he asked quietly.

Penguin kissed the skin on his collarbone. Of course Shachi had to ask that. Their relationship was a bit unusual and not known outside the security of their own cabin. A few years ago they had decided to let off some steam with each other, but without feelings attached. It was great and easy. And now he had to bring in another man, a potential love interest. No wonder Shachi had asked him that question.

“If it’s okay with you,” he whispered against his warm skin, “I don’t want to stop doing this with you.”

Shachi made no noise as he turned around and leaned over him. He dipped his head down and kissed first his nose, then his mouth and then grinned happily at him.

“Nice to hear,” he said.

 

The next day, Penguin shuffled into the kitchen. It was still early and most of the crew was still sleeping or nursing their hangovers. He wasn’t feeling so well himself, his eyes hurt from the bright light of the neon light hanging from the low ceiling.

Therefore he decided to make himself a cup of coffee. Maybe that would wake him up. While he poured fresh water into the container, he thought back about yesterday’s events. He hadn’t meant to kiss Law – he was his captain, for fucks sake, what was he thinking? - but what was done was done. He couldn’t take it back. Even if Shachi hadn’t persuaded him to talk to him he was sure his captain wouldn’t let his faux pas slide so easily. He was most likely infuriated with him.

Scooping several heaped spoons of coffee into the machine he sighed and leaned against the counter. Law’s lips against his … even if it just was for only one short moment, he could still feel the slight tingle on his lips. How would it feel if he kissed him again? The slide of his lips against his own, their breath intermingling, Law’s aroused voice in his ear-

Somebody slammed a mug next to him on the counter. He jumped and looked directly at his captain, who slowly poured himself a cup of his coffee. Penguin stood perfectly still. Frankly said, Law looked like shit. His face was pale, the shadows under his eyes even more pronounced than usual, his mouth set in a grim line.

Penguin tapped his fingers nervously against the counter.

“Good morning,” he managed to squeak out. _Really great_ , Penguin, he thought, _really great. Even if there was a small chance that he found you attractive, too, you’ve destroyed it now with your sorry excuse of a voice._

Law continued to ignore him and sat down at the table, nursing his coffee with heavy-lidded eyes, his hands around the mug. That in itself was unusual, as his captain tended to disappear into his rooms as soon as he had his morning drug, reading books or making notes. He wasn’t sure what to do. He'd originally planned to prepare himself a nice small breakfast, like bacon and eggs, and sit down to contemplate what the fuck he had done, but now he just wanted to escape the thick atmosphere and sneak back to Shachi’s and his cabin, crawling under the covers with his friend.

He made a move towards the door, but Law’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Sit down,” he said, his voice like ice.

Penguin tensed, but this was a command if he ever heard one from him, and he slowly turned around without even glancing at him. He seated himself on the far end of the table, almost opposite of him, his hands clenching around the still hot mug, nearly scalding himself.

Law watched him silently. His mug was nearly empty by now – he had the fascinating ability to inhale his coffee when nobody was watching – but his eyes still looked tired. On another day, Penguin would have stood up and made him another one. But not today. He waited.

“What you did yesterday,” Law began finally, “won’t happen again. I don’t know whatever gave you the idea to _kiss_ me,” he said, and the way he said ‘kiss’ like he was so disgusted by him made him feel small, “but know that you ever try this again, or speak a word to anyone on this ship, there will be consequences. You _know_ me. You know I can’t let that slide.”

The last words sounded hurt and Penguin, who had looked at his hands, snapped his head up. There _was_ hurt in Law’s eyes, and something like betrayal. God, what had he done?

“Do you understand?” Law asked.

He had hurt him. Law had confided in him last night, but in his panic he not only had told his best friend the news, but had rushed to his rooms to steal the last bit of their closeness away. He wouldn‘t have called Law and him friends, him being his captain and all, but they had known each other so many years and he was one of the few people he had told his story and the reason he'd become a pirate. And he broke it. It wasn’t even planned, wasn’t even like he had pined for him or anything. He wasn’t in love with him. Or so he thought. He wasn’t sure anymore.

He nodded.

Law nodded, too, curtly, and stood up to get himself another cup of coffee.

In the next moment Shachi came into the kitchen.

“Morning!” he greeted them with a big smile on his face. Penguin gritted his teeth; he really hoped that Shachi wouldn‘t let something slip of what happened last night. He desperately hoped that Law couldn‘t mindread or something like that, because he would be seriously fucked if that were the case. Anyway, the way Shachi seemed just a tad too cheerful this morning ought to rise Law’s suspicions.

Law didn’t even acknowledge him and passed him with his now brimful mug. The door shut after him with an almost inaudible click.

“Wow.” Shachi went to the counter to butter a slice of toast and smear an unhealthy amount of peanut butter on it. “Somebody’s in a mood. Did ya have a little talk?”

“You let it sound like it was something pleasant.” Penguin put his head into his hands and stared into his mug. “He threatened me, if you must know. I don’t know what he’d do, really, but ...”

Shachi snorted.

“And _you_ let it sound like it was the end of the world!” He plopped down next to him and slung an arm around his shoulders. “What do you think he would do? Extra kitchen duties? Kick you out of the crew?”

“Please be serious, Shachi.”

Shachi looked at him, his eyes worried. Penguin took a sip, just because he didn’t have anything better to do and he didn’t want to mope.

“Man, you’re really into him, aren’t you?” Penguin didn’t answer him, so Shachi poked his elbow into his side. “Didn’t you want to talk to him? You can’t let him become all mighty captain on you and not speak your mind! Tell him how you feel! I bet at the moment he thinks you just want to fool around a bit or scratch an itch – but he can’t punish you for what you feel! So _go_ and talk to him!”

Penguin bit his lip. He knew Shachi was right, but it was always so much easier just to not do a thing, to wait until his feelings would have faded (and there were feelings, there definitively were, he just didn’t know how deep they were rooted) and to bury them away. He remembered how Shachi and him became what they were, a little more than just best friends. Shachi was the one who had initiated it by a sudden, overwhelming kiss a few years ago, his hard body underneath his own after he had a bad dream and Penguin had slipped into his bed to comfort him. His skin had still been warm and sticky from sleep, but his hands were even hotter as they slipped into his hair and held onto him, nearly suffocating him with the sudden burning sensations and a tongue in his mouth-

They were lovers, then. They didn’t call it that, didn’t talk about it even. They continued to talk about girls and they continued to find one or two women to pass the time with in the far in between times the Polar Tang cast anchor in some harbor. It was an unspoken rule that they didn’t belong to each other.

“You know I’m right,” Shachi said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Penguin just wanted his life to be easy. No such luck though.

“I know.”


	2. Chapter 2

He really wanted to go to Law. He really did. But before he could set his plan into motion, Bepo, their navigator, called through the loudspeakers that he had found something interesting and so he went to the navigating room with a mixture of impatience and relief. As he entered the room he noticed several other crew members as well as the three Strawhats crowding the little space. His captain stood next to Bepo, his back turned to him. Penguin allowed himself a tiny moment to appreciate the straight lines of his back, clad in his favorite yellow hoodie, but he averted his gaze as soon as Law turned around to address the crew.

“There seem to be the ruins of an underwater city just a few miles ahead of us. Bepo found it with the radar,” he said and instantly everyone bombarded him and Bepo with questions like “Where is it?” or “Is it huge?” and a cringe-worthy “Suuuper!” with an even more cringe-worthy pose striking of the cyborg.

Meanwhile, Penguin shuffled through the crowd to arrive at the small bull’s eye giving a narrow view of the black sea in front of them. He pressed his nose to the cold reinforced glass, as always aware that it was only a few inches of thick glass shielding them from the crushing force of the water’s immense pressure outside. He tried to look down to see with his own eyes what Bepo’s radar had found; the monotonous low-pitched sound giving away only so much as contours and the distance they had yet to travel. His captain had long-since wanted to implement a visual board to this room, but the past few months with first his heavy planning and then the many months long he was absent from their crew, Law didn’t have the time to pursue these plans any further yet. Penguin couldn’t rattle the thought that a gadget like that would be really helpful now. He couldn’t make out anything in the dark.

Law appeared next to him and imitated him by peering down into the abyss. He didn’t press his nose against the glass, though.

“We will send our shuttle down to explore the ruins,” he said, as if talking to Penguin alone, but the crew member’s chatter instantly died down to listen to their captain. “See if there’s anything interesting or of worth.” His eyes slid to Penguin. “You will go,” he said to him, “and one more. Any volunteers?”

There were several. It was not everyday that they found something exciting like an underwater city. Penguin knew that it was most likely that they wouldn’t find anything of interest. For all he knew the city would consist of slowly rotting brick stones crusted with seashells or – this deep down – only the remnants of what fell down from above, little specks of organic matter and the waste of the oceans. No light fell down to these depths. They were around one kilometer beneath the sea level, the point of which no sunlight from above could reach the yellow outside of their submarine. It was only at this depth that their captain felt safe.

He shook himself out of his thoughts. He had learned early to not think too long about those things lest he be crushed of fear.

There were preparations made and soon Penguin and Connor, a teammate who joined them two years ago, climbed into the shuttle. It was a tiny, narrow thing, equally yellow like its mothership and dotted with black spots, much like the hat the captain wore most times. Penguin tried to fold himself behind the steering wheel, his long legs bumping against the walls. Connor squeezed in behind him and Penguin looked up as the hatch was closed.

“Are you nervous?” he asked Connor.

“Yeah.”

Connor shuffled a bit, still trying to get comfortable. _Ha, good luck trying_ , Penguin thought, _this shitty shuttle is a monster of uncomfortableness._ But he knew that is was the first time for his younger teammate, so he couldn’t fault him. He had to be a few years younger than him, maybe in his early twenties, but his face was that of an even younger boy. They had picked him up from a summer island and he had traveled with them since then, but there had not been any major fights. Law had left not even a year after that and they were left for many months on Zou, with the command to stay put and to not arouse attention. I could have been relaxing months, and for Connor as a newbie it maybe was, only the strange Minks as their company, ever so welcoming, but the other crew members missed their captain dearly, anxiety feeding on them.

The shuttle was released from the Polar Tang with a heavy jolt and they lurched forward. After a few seconds Penguin had the shuttle under control. He switched the lights on, two glowing orbs in the darkness. It was like flying, except he could see tiny specks of sand and leaves floating through the light like dust through the air of an old abandoned house. He could only hear the rattle of the engines and the constant beeping of his own radar as they slowly descended, away from the mothership.

He could hear Connor breathe behind him.

“No worries,” he told him. “This shuttle is safe and I’ve steered it many times. We’ll only have a small look around and soon we’ll be back.”

Connor didn’t answer him, but there was no need. In the small halo of light he could suddenly make out a stone structure, the color as gray as its surroundings. They had arrived at the city. Penguin looked at his board and saw that they were about twelve hundred meters beneath the sea level. No seashells here, only a few fish glowing in the vast space of the deep sea, and bacteria. He wondered how there could be a city this deep down. Had there been a time during which this spot had been above the sea level? Or had there been so great shifts of the tectonic plates that the city now lay much further down than it had originally been? But he knew that things like these took much longer than he could comprehend, so he instantly threw the idea out of the window.

He steered them through a wide arch – an entrance to the city? – made entirely out of stone, the individual bricks pressing against one another to grant them stability. It was a wonder it still stood like this. There wasn’t much to see as he followed what appeared as a street of some sort, mostly small and some bigger houses to both sides, nearly all of the roofs caved in. A few glowing fish flitted by, startling Connor who began to laugh out of embarrassment.

They cruised through the city for a while, not daring to enter one of the houses. The danger that they would disturb the fragile structures was a risk Penguin was not willing to take. The shuttle was sturdy, but he didn’t want to risk even a scratch this deep down.

Finally, an enormous building loomed ahead of them. Penguin slowed down and gazed through the round windowpane of the shuttle. As he moved the lights over the massive stone pillars flanking the ornate entrance he read the bleached out letters above, which read ‘Grand Library’. It seemed as if the civilization, whoever they had been, had been one of culture because of the sheer size of this building. One of the massive double doors leaned ajar, the gap only just wide enough for their shuttle to pass through. He pondered only for a moment if he should drive through it, but his curiosity gained the upper hand pretty fast.

He knew it wasn’t possible, but as the shuttle passed the threshold, slowly, steadily, the darkness engulfed them even more than before. The little space in the shuttle seemed to shrink even more. Penguin tried to shake off the looming feeling of claustrophobia as he carefully steered the shuttle deeper into the entrance hall of the library. The lights flicked over the high walls to their left, ancient but decaying drawings on them. Before them lay a broad staircase which he followed.

“We shouldn’t be here,” Connor whispered in his ear. He didn’t know why he did that – whisper – it wasn’t as if anybody could hear them. That was something he loved about the endless vastness of the deep sea, and what he feared in equal amount, the utter aloneness, nobody around for miles except the Polar Tang, its inhabitants eagerly awaiting their safe return.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Connor sweetie,” he answered. It was something Shachi said to him many times before, when he got afraid and jittery. “I just want to see what’s above the stairs, then we will return. We haven’t left much air either, so-”

“Not much air left?” Connor whisper-screamed into his ear. Obviously that had been the wrong thing to say. “Please, let’s go back!”

Penguin rolled his eyes.

“Jeez, if I had known you’re such a scaredy-cat I’d have told Captain to take another man with me!” Except that he wouldn’t have done that. He couldn’t speak to him.

“It’s not safe!”

“No, it isn’t, but it’s safe as it can be, pirate boy!”

Connor shut up then, but Penguin wasn’t entirely sure if it was because of his mean words or because of what suddenly lay ahead of them.

There were books. Rows over rows of fancy casebound books – it had to be thousands of them, but the most remarkable thing about them was that they still seemed to be in remarkable good condition, as if they hadn’t been submerged under water since who knew how long. Penguin caught himself staring, his mouth opened a bit. He had the eerie feeling that they had stumbled upon something incredibly valuable, but couldn’t grasp its real worth yet.

A rumble in the distance interrupted his thoughts.

Connor shook his shoulder.

“ _Please_ , let’s get out of here!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Penguin turned the shuttle around, the lights brushing the staircase before them. Again he heard a rumble, much nearer this time. An earthquake, he realized, and pushed the controller forward to gain speed. The mighty doors of the library shook in their hinges and he saw, in the dancing lights between the darkness, how the narrow gap through which they had entered, became even narrower. “Fuck,” he cursed, even as he ignored Connor screaming in his ear. They could still make it, but it was risky.

But not so risky as to be trapped in this place with no other known exit and air for less than half an hour.

He pushed the controller even more forward and the shuttle lurched through the water, bubbles escaping behind them. The door came nearer and he wanted to slow down to gain more control over the shuttle, but then there was a third rumble, so close, so close, and the door was too narrow, he knew it, but there was no other way as he shot through it, both sides of the shuttle scraping against the door and its mate, the shrill sound of metal scraping against splintering wood as he held his breath and they finally slipped free.

Connor was crying and trying not to. Penguin didn’t have it in his heart not to console him, even if his own heart beat painfully against his chest, adrenaline still cursing though his veins.

“We made it,” he said as he checked the air indicator. “We’re safe now.”

They didn’t say anything else as they slowly ascended from the depths. His left knee throbbed with a dull pain. He supposed that he had hit it against the steering wheel as he had pushed through the door and hadn’t felt it until now.

The Polar Tang came into view above them. He morse coded a signal to them so they would know it was them and open the hatch to enter the ship again. He saw Connor wiping his hands over his face out of the corner of his eye, clearly making himself representable again.

He slipped into the hatch which closed behind them, the water immediately being pumped from the chamber. He waited patiently until the hatch of the shuttle was above the water level and then opened it to climb out.

The first thing he noticed was that his knee was bleeding. Nothing serious, but he knew that he should get it checked out. Captain was really pedantic about injuries.

As he jumped down into the puddles of water remaining on the floor, he could hear Connor mumbling something.

“What?” he asked. Connor jumped down next to him without closing the hatch.

“I said I have to report to our captain that you put ourselves into danger,” he said, still jittery, but with anger clouding his eyes. Penguin didn’t know if he should throttle him or be worried.

“I couldn’t know that there would be an earthquake.” Why did he defend himself?

“You could have turned back when I said it.”

“It was perfectly safe! I know how to steer the shuttle, you know! And I don’t have to listen to you, you’re much lower in rank than-”

The loudspeakers crackled as another voice called through them.

“In my quarters, Penguin. Now.”

He tried to ignore Connor’s smug expression as he left the hangar. Following the cramped hallways he found his way to his captain’s quarters, anxiety pooling in his stomach. His knee hurt, but he had wanted to take care of it before Law saw him again. No such luck. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but it was opened before his knuckles made contact with it.

Law looked tired, as always.

“Come in.” He stepped aside to let Penguin through and shut the door behind him as Penguin stood awkwardly in the small room. Law made himself comfortable on the only chair and folded one leg under him. Then he saw the blood which had soaked through his overall. “What happened?”

The urge to say ‘Nothing’ was strong, but Penguin resisted it, knowing that Law wouldn’t accept it.

“Most of the city is in ruins, but there was a library.”

“I meant your leg,” Law told him sternly.

“I’ve hit it against the steering wheel,” he grumbled. “It’s nothing to worry about, I will bandage it later in the infirmary.”

“No, wait.” Law stood up from his chair. “Sit down and roll up your trouser’s legs.”

Penguin knew he wouldn’t be left off the hook so easily, so he silently did as he was told. Sitting backwards on the chair he pulled the left pants leg upward. The clothing scraped against his wound, which was bigger than he had anticipated.

Law knelt before him, in one hand the antiseptic wash and a cotton swab, and reached out for his leg.

“You said you saw a library?” he asked as he soaked the cotton with the antiseptic and dabbed the small wound. It hurt like hell. Penguin grit his teeth together as he answered.

“Yeah. A really big one. They even called it ‘Grand Library’. We went in and there were lots of books. You would have liked it,” he added and it was true. Law did like his books, not even only medical ones, but also about various other subjects or even fiction. He spend almost all of his free-time reading, something Penguin didn’t quite understand, but he admired his ability to concentrate for so long. “And they were in good condition. I would have liked to explore more, but there was a small earthquake and we’ve barely made it out.”

Law’s head snapped up.

“Our system also registered the earthquake, but there was no way to reach you.” He began to bandage the now clean and disinfected wound with gentle hands. “Next time, I’ll send other crew members down there.”

“What? But I now know the way, this doesn’t make sense! You can send me down there – and maybe someone else, too, ‘cause Connor was a real pain in the ass, but there’s no sense in sending someone entirely else!”

“Don’t shout, Pen.” Law’s eyes had narrowed. “And I’ve already decided and I am still your captain. So obey me.” He fastened the bandage. “Besides, you are my second in command, so it would not be advisable to lose you.”

Penguin halted at that. That had almost sounded like – like he didn’t want to lose him. Law inspected his handiwork on his knee, but as Penguin watched him he noticed the slightest tinge of red on the tips of his ears.

“I’m perfectly capable of handling the risk,” he therefore said. “There’s no need to worry about me.”

“I don’t worry.”

“Then why do you want to send someone else down there? I’m one of the best in steering the shuttle, it isn’t logical to send someone else. I don’t want to be favored-”

Suddenly, Law wasn’t kneeling on the floor anymore, but he had sprung to his feet and pushed his hand against his shoulder, nearly tipping him over. His face was tense, anger gleaming in his eyes.

“I don’t _favor_ you! I don’t know where you’d get such an idea! Just because you kissed me? Don’t take me for a fool, Penguin. I’d _never_ get myself involved with one of my subordinates, it wouldn’t – it wouldn’t be right.”

He was breathing heavily. His palm on Penguin’s shoulder burned hotly and his ears still glowed like a beacon. Penguin swallowed.

“So it’s because of this? You rejected me because I’m your subordinate?”

How dared he? First he told him that he wanted to dissipate the crew after they defeated Kaido and now he had qualms because he was his captain? Law didn’t answer, but withdrew his hand, clutching it as if he had burned himself.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit hypocritical?” Penguin asked, his throat feeling tight. “Maybe I am your subordinate now, but this will change pretty soon, won’t it? Why do you say one thing but mean another at the same time?”

But still, Law didn’t answer. His face had become white, his posture stooped, but the hand with which he had touched him balled itself into a fist. Penguin didn’t know what to do. With a simple rejection he could deal just fine – he would cuddle with Shachi, pour his heart out to him, drink a bit and play cards with his comrades. But this wasn’t a clear rejection. For each word that had left Law’s mouth he could see something else in the way his ears burned or his hand had lingered on his shoulder, as if he wished that Penguin would understand him even if his words told something else.

“You should go now,” Law finally said.

But what if this all was just a terrible misunderstanding? If he wanted him to reciprocate his affections so much he saw things that weren’t there? He would make a fool of himself, even more than he already did.

He stood up, the pain in his knee flaring up. And with one last glance at the back of his captain’s head he left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the deep sea, so the fact that the Heart Pirates own a submarine is the perfect excuse for me to write about it :)  
> What do you think about Law's behaviour? Is Penguin imagining things or does Law really hide something? ;D


	3. Chapter 3

“You should kiss him again,” Shachi told him, as they lay in bed together this evening, after he had told him what had occurred earlier.

“Are you crazy?” Penguin lifted his head from the comfortable place on Shachi’s shoulder. “He’ll kill me!”

“No, he won’t.” Shachi continued to draw lazy circles on his sweat soaked back. They had slept with each other, but hadn’t found the motivation to stand up and shower yet. “If you’d kiss him long enough, I’m sure he’ll find that his stubbornness isn’t worth missing your kisses.”

Penguin laughed and buried his face in the space between his neck and his shoulder.

“You’re silly.” He grinned.

“No, I’m totally serious.” Shachi turned around, so that he lay half atop him, one of his hands gripping Penguin’s hair. “You should flirt with him, you know? Let him know what he’s missing.”

“I should _what_?” Now he really was laughing, the idea so ridiculous. He stretched his neck to peck Shachi above him on the lips, his weight a comfortable anchor on him. His knee still hurt, but Shachi had just told him to lie down and had spoiled him thoroughly.

“I mean it! You have to turn on your charm, maybe show a bit of skin ...”

“Shachi. Do you even _know_ him?” Penguin grinned.

“He’s not made of stone, he’s just a man with the same desires as us!”

“In all those years, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen him disappear with a woman. Or a man. Dear god, Shachi, I don’t even know if he swings that way!”

“But you’ve said he blushed.”

“Yeah, I know, but maybe he was just embarrassed?”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Shachi rolled his eyes and then smothered him with a series of light kisses. Penguin smiled against his mouth – even if everything else failed, Shachi and him would remain friends. He could find comfort in that, even if the thought of losing Law hurt more than he had anticipated.

“Trust me,” Shachi murmured against his lips. “And now – how about round two?”

 

Flirting with Law turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. Firstly, since the discovery of the underwater city the Polar Tang bustled with people scurrying around, the shuttle diving daily to the ruins and to the Grand Library. Penguin wasn’t allowed to dive with it, a fact he silently brooded about. Secondly, for the next few days he scarcely even saw his captain, as he was almost constantly locked in his quarters, reading some of the books the exploring teams brought from the library. The only person who was allowed there was Robin, the Straw Hat archaeologist, who spent hours on hours in there with him.

And thirdly, he just didn’t know how to begin. It wasn’t like he had terribly much of experience. Shachi was the first and only man he had any relations with (he wasn’t entirely certain, but Shachi was just so confident in everything sexual he did that he just _had_ to have more experience than him) and with him everything just fell into place like a puzzle for four-year-olds. But Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart Pirates? He couldn’t just knock on his door with a rose in his mouth and slowly undress while romantic music played from somewhere.

The only times he caught a glimpse of him were when he ventured into the kitchen to stock up on his coffee provisions. Therefore Penguin spend the majority of today’s free time there, waiting for him to appear (without appearing too suspicious to the other crew members). He passed the time by cleaning the kitchen surfaces until they were gleaming and preparing little snacks for his comrades.

It was already early evening as Law finally appeared.

He halted as he set foot in the kitchen, having noticed Penguin leaning against the counter, sipping a cup of tea. He appeared exhausted, as he had obviously spend the last hours pouring over ancient books which had been carefully dried from seawater. Penguin was interested in them as well.

“Have you found something interesting?” he asked as Law passed him without further acknowledging his presence. Law glanced at him, seemingly surprised that he asked a harmless question.

“I’m not sure yet,” he told him as he poured ground coffee into the machine. “It’s written in a language I don’t understand, so Robin has to translate for me. It’s tedious. All I can say is that I have several medical journals lying on my desk and the author currently tries to analyze divers symptoms which had occurred in several people of the city.”

Penguin tried to process what he had said, daring to take a step forward. He tried to put all of his weight on his good leg.

“So he doesn’t know the illness they suffer from? I hope it’s not fatal.”

The machine began to work, nearly black coffee pouring into the pot.

“Unfortunately it is. But it was a long time ago, and illness or not, these people would have been dead for many years.”

“How many years are we speaking, exactly?” Penguin asked further, now standing beside him. He was nearly giddy that Law didn’t seem to mind him. Almost as it had been before. “I mean, I don’t get how there can be a city this deep down in the ocean.”

“There is no exact date in the journal. But Robin was able to pinpoint the approximate date because of some events the author mentioned and she thinks it has been nearly 800 years ago.”

Penguin felt his eyes go wide and he leaned forward.

“But isn’t this in the Void Century?”

“No, not exactly. Keeping in mind that we don’t know exactly when the Void Century began or ended, but Robin says it has to be shortly after the end of it. The world was in uproar then, the World Government newly formed, wars fought on each ocean in every direction. Maybe this city has been only another victim of those circumstances. And please, don’t lean into my personal space like this, Penguin.”

Penguin flinched, not even having realized how close to Law he was, and immediately stepped back. _So much for flirting_ , he thought at the same time he felt a violent blush creep up his neck. Law sent him an exasperated look and then peered at the still only half full pot, clearly wanting to be gone sooner than later. Couldn’t he get anything right? The last thing he had wanted was to make him uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, you know,” Penguin whispered. “I’m not sorry that I have kissed you. But I regret this … that you can’t look me in the eye anymore.”

Law didn’t look up from the coffee pot.

“Yeah. Me too.”

 

A few days later the Polar Tang was still hoverering over the same location. The underwater city had caught their captain’s interest and he and Robin continued pouring hour over hour over the retrieved books. Penguin was tense as a coil spring, silently observing Law whenever he got the chance to do so. He appeared more exhausted everyday and he asked himself why – he knew Robin left his quarters each evening as she didn’t look nearly as tired as their captain. He supposed that Law didn’t sleep much at the moment. This wasn’t something new; he often functioned on a minimum of sleep, preferring to inhale unhealthy amounts of coffee instead.

But his eyes didn’t look only tired to Penguin. They looked _haunted_.

There was a tingle in the tips of his fingers sending tiny little sparks over his spine. He just wanted to _do_ something. To mend what wasn’t mendable.

He was in the kitchen as always these days, busying himself with preparing a healthy balanced meal for his captain. He wasn’t even sure yet if he could work up the courage to actually deliver it to his quarters.

“What are you doing?” someone asked suddenly and he gave a start, almost burning himself on the stove.

As he turned around he saw Bepo leaning against the fridge. The poor polar bear was having a hard time as they lingered down here for such a long time. Even with the outside ocean being very cold the inside of a submarine was stifling hot for the most time, courtesy of several large machines working twenty-four hours a day. Bepo with his thick fur was the crew member who suffered the most under the heat.

“I’m cooking,” Penguin answered his question and turned back to the frying pan.

“Can I have something, too?” Bepo leaned his giant fluffy head over his shoulder.

“Sorry, but no.”

“Why not? Do you want to eat so much alone? This easily is enough for two.”

 _Yeah. Yeah, it is. But it’s not for you, Bepo,_ Penguin thought. He had taken all of Law’s favorite ingredients and avoided the stuff he didn’t like, so he sincerely hoped Law would understand his peace offering. He didn’t know what else to do. His heart already ached for the last few days and even Shachi’s cuddles couldn’t lift him from his dark mood.

“Sorry, Bepo,” he said instead. Bepo frowned, but accepted his half-baked answer. Opening the fridge he stuck his head inside to get a bit of relief. Penguin smiled at the sight.

Ten minutes later he was on his way to the captain’s quarters, the steaming meal neatly packed inside a thermo box so it would remain as hot as it was when he had turned off the stove. As he arrived at his door he took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.

After a few moments it opened and Law stared at him.

“Yes?” he said finally, as Penguin still tried to find any words to greet him.

“I’ve cooked something for you!” he blurted, nearly shoving the box into Law’s face. “I – I’ve hoped we could eat it … together?”

Law’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Penguin shifted from one foot to another. The box began to get warm beneath his fingers.

“It’s … uh … I thought ...”

“Spit it out, Pen, I haven’t got all day.”

“It’s a peace offering,” Penguin finally managed to say, his eyes downcast. Had it been foolish to come here? He could see Robin sitting at the desk inside the room, her long legs neatly folded. “I wanted to eat with you, today. But I can see that you’ve got company, so ...”

“You _know_ that I’ve got company, Penguin. Robin has been here for the last few days helping me out.”

Penguin frowned.

“Yes. Believe me, I know,” he grumbled, anger seeping in his voice. He sent a dark look inside the room, but Robin only continued to smile at him.

Suddenly, Law took a step towards him and closed the door behind him with a click, Robin disappearing from his view. He was so close he could smell the faint scent of his shampoo still clinging to him.

Law looked at the box still in his hands.

“You say this is a peace offering and yet I can only hear anger in your voice. What’s wrong?”

Penguin knew, even before the words left his mouth, that he was about to commit a huge mistake, but he said them anyway: “I just don’t get why you have to spend so much time with her. You’re neglecting the rest of the crew!”

“Take care how you speak,” Law growled and backed him up against the wall. “And don’t get any ideas. I’ve told you what we do in there, and that is translating the books. Not everything is about sex, Pen.”

He was so close now, his breath mingling with his own. Penguin’s heart stuttered in his chest. Before he could fully process what he was doing he had already leaned forward and kissed him tenderly.

Law shoved him hard against the wall, his head connecting with the metal, sharp pain immediately blooming in it.

“I’ve told you not to do this again,” Law hissed. He was furious. “You leave me no choice than to punish you. I assign you additional duties in the machine room – starting tomorrow, I want you to check all of them for necessary repairs and to clean them. Do you understand?”

Penguin nodded. The motion sent sickness down into his stomach and he held his breath so as not to puke.

Law remained where he was for a moment, as if he still wanted to say something, but then he turned around and slammed the door shut between them.

The thermo box was still in his hands as a small drop of water dripped down on it. He was crying, he realized. His hand trembled as he wiped over his face and tried to regain his composure. What would he do if somebody found him like this, crying like a baby in front of the captain’s quarters? His breathing hitched and he stifled the escaping sounds with a fist, biting down on his fingers. He didn’t want Law to hear him.

He was such an idiot. He pressed his eyes tightly shut for a moment and willed the tears to go away, then he pushed off the wall, pulling his hat lower down his face hoping that nobody would notice his puffy eyes.

Only a few people passed him on his way to his own quarters and nobody even glanced at him, each and everyone too busy with their own duties. He still clutched the thermo box in his hands as he finally arrived at his destination and hastily slipped in his room.

He threw himself on his bed and didn’t stand up for a long time.

 

Hours must have passed as the door opened again. Penguin lay awake, his face pressed into the pillow, but he didn’t move as he heard Shachi make his way into the room, shrugging out of his work clothes. He heard him shuffle closer.

“Are you sleeping?” Shachi whispered, so as not to wake him if that were the case. For a moment, Penguin really did consider to feign sleep, but something in the sudden tenseness of his shoulders must have given him away because Shachi just sighed deeply. The mattress sank down as he sat on it, one gentle hand stroking his hair. “Has something bad happened?”

Penguin nodded, not trusting himself to speak yet.

“Wanna talk about it?” Shachi inquired, but Penguin only shook his head, the moisture on the pillow beginning to feel really uncomfortable, and reached out to him. Shachi understood immediately and settled down next to him. He enclosed him in his arms and Penguin pressed his wet face against his t-shirt-clad shoulder, clinging tightly to him. Shachi didn’t say anything, just held him, stroked his hair and his back, his warmth seeping through him.

He didn’t know how long they lay there, but as the moments passed by and Penguin slowly calmed down, he realized that he didn’t want to miss the comfort of Shachi’s arms. It was a selfish thing to think. But Shachi had been on his side for the last few years, comforting him when he had needed it, as Penguin comforted him after Shachi’s nightmares, remnants of his childhood they never spoke about. He didn’t want this to end. He wanted to selfishly cling to him, pleasure him and seek the pleasure he gave him so generously.

“I did it again,” he murmured against Shachi’s shoulder, one hand wandering under his t-shirt and feeling the warm skin beneath. “What you’d said. I kissed him again, but I hadn’t planned on it, it was just – he was so close and I couldn’t control it – but he – he-”

“He rejected you?”

Penguin nodded, feeling miserable.

“I’ve got machine rooms duties tomorrow.”

“Ouch.”

Shachi continued to stroke his hair, even as his other hand began to slip off his jumpsuit, fingertips ghosting over his shoulder blades.

“I’m sure he will come around,” he said.

“I don’t think he likes me that way,” Penguin mumbled. “He spends all of his time with this Robin, anyway.”

“Jealous?” He could almost hear him smile.

“You bet I am.”

The jumpsuit was pulled down to his hips, his upper body only clothed in his tank top.

“How about I distract you for a little bit?” Shachi whispered in his ear, eliciting goosebumps running down his spine. Penguin didn’t answer, but he shuffled closer as Shachi began to pet his back, his hand drawing lazy circles on it and slowly inching towards his stomach. He didn’t want to miss this ever, this closeness, so much like their friendship.

Soon, he was fully hard and Shachi wasted no time to grasp his dick, slowly, teasingly moving his fist up and down. Penguin listened to his own gasps, shallowly thrusting his hips against him as Shachi tipped his head up to kiss him, his tongue sneaking inside his mouth. He could feel the other’s hardness against his stomach and fumbled at the thin trousers Shachi liked to wear beneath his jumpsuit, sliding it down over his hips to free his erection. But as he made to reach for it Shachi slapped his hand away and grabbed both of their cocks in one hand, his thumb sliding over his glans and making Penguin jump and moan into his mouth.

He could feel the familiar knot in his lower belly tighten as Shachi sped his hand up, every so often sliding his thumb over the sensitive tip. Suddenly, he tipped over the edge, spilling over his friend’s hand. Shachi kissed him hard, stealing his breath, even as he rubbed his cock hard and fast on Penguin’s belly to follow him only a few moments later.

They were both panting hard. Shachi lay heavily half on top of him, his eyes closed. After a few moments he switched off the light and pulled the covers over both of them.

Lying in the dark, Penguin wondered if it was possible to love two persons at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't Penguin an idiot? (an adorable one)  
> At first I just wanted to write this fic as an excuse for endless smut, but know I think a wild plot has creeped up on me :D


	4. Chapter 4

Checking the machine room for screws and tubes which needed replacement was a pain in the ass.

Currently, Penguin crouched on the floor, a greasy screwdriver in one hand, as he tried to unscrew a particularly tight jammed bolt which refused to budge even a millimeter. He had grease on his clothes and in his hair. It really was disgusting work and his injured knee hurt as much as his back from the constant crouching and bending over.

The screw came loose with a sudden jolt and he staggered backwards, inelegantly falling on his ass. He had to reek like he hadn’t showered for a week.

“ _Fuck_ this!”

He slammed his hand against the machine, but the only thing he managed with this was that his hand started to hurt, too. Law didn’t mention how long his punishment would last, but he knew better than to ask him. For the last three days he was the only one occupying the machine room, checking all of the various machines keeping the submarine deep beneath the sea level and them alive with increasingly stale air. They would need to surface very soon and Penguin hoped that he would be allowed a few hours outside, maybe even taking a dip in the ocean.

Each evening he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Sometimes he felt Shachi lying down next to him, sometimes petting him or massaging his sore muscles.

He didn’t stand up. Instead he stared at the ceiling, plastered with thin and broad pipes which were too hot to touch. In the last three days, he had burned his fingers more than one time.

He needed a break.

He carelessly let his screwdriver fall down to the floor with a clank and left the machine room to go to the kitchen. To his surprise Shachi stood behind the counter, preparing a meal.

“Hey,” he greeted Penguin as soon as he entered and dried his hands on the towel before he went to him and gently touched his cheek. “Wanna eat something?”

“Yes, please. I’m starving.”

Penguin sat down at the table and hungrily waited until Shachi placed a plate laden with bacon and eggs in front if him. As he dug in, the redhead sat down opposite of him and stared at him mindlessly, chin in one hand.

“What?” Penguin spoke muffled around the food in his mouth.

“How are you faring?” Shachi asked. “Still not done in the machine room?”

Penguin glared at his eggs.

“Not even close. The repairs are mostly done, but cleaning it up is taking ages.”

Shachi didn’t have an answer for that, instead he wordlessly scraped more bacon onto his plate when he was half done. Finally, he reached with one hand over the table and lightly touched his arm.

“Have you seen Law recently?” he asked. Penguin shook his head.

“He avoids me. I’ve only seen him one or two times, but he seemed busy and ... I didn’t know what to say to him. I don’t think that he even wants to talk to me anymore.” He rubbed his hand over his face in the hope that Shachi wouldn’t see the anguished look in his eyes. “I think that anything I’d say to him would only worsen the situation.”

Shachi watched him silently for a moment, gnawing on his lower lip.

“Maybe you’re right. I think Law isn’t one who’d let himself be convinced with words.” But there was a gleam in his eyes as if there was more to that sentence. “You know, he watches you. I’ve seen it. He can’t keep his eyes off you if he thinks you’re not looking and I’m asking myself what’s the reason for that?”

Penguin snorted.

“Yeah, right,” he said bitterly and shoved the plate away. He wasn’t hungry anymore. “He’s probably on guard because of me. Doesn’t want to get the gay virus.”

Shachi stood up and sat beside him, one of his arms slung around him and held him close.

“Please don’t be so hard on yourself. You know, we don’t choose who we love.”

Penguin let himself be held, ignoring that he probably reeked of grease and oil, and pressed his nose into the hollow of Shachi’s collarbones. He really would have liked to kiss him at that moment, but they never did that. It was a taboo they had defined a long time ago, when their relationship still had been fresh. They didn’t want the rumors to start by being found out and they didn’t want their crew mates to look at them differently.

Because of this, and because he really had a mountain-load of work ahead of him, he untangled himself after a few minutes and smiled a little half smile at Shachi.

“See you tonight?” he asked as he stood up and gulped a glass of water down. Shachi nodded.

He passed a few crew members as he strolled through the hallways and back to the machine room again, sweat already running down his back as he closed the heavy door behind him. The machines were whirring loudly, adding to his already building headache. He sighed and got back to work.

He had to mend things with Law. As stupid as it sounded, he guessed time would heal the wounds, the trust between them he so easily destroyed slowly building each day he wouldn’t get brain freeze, kept it in his pants and didn’t kiss him. So far, so easy sounding. He didn’t think he should apologize – what worth were his words if he wasn’t sorry at all, even after the consequences that had occurred? – and Law wasn’t one for apologies anyway.

Hearts got broken all the time. It wasn’t anything new, so he really should not make a big deal out of this.

Maybe it was because this was the first time it had happened.

The door to the machine room opened suddenly, fresh air wafting in. Penguin continued to rub the pipes in front of him with an increasingly soiled cloth, even as the door closed again to keep the heat out off the rest of the ship.

“I was told there was an urgent matter that needed my attention?” somebody said behind him and Penguin jumped, his head hit the pipes above him with crunching preciseness.

“ _Fuck_!” he cursed and turned around, holding his pounding head.

His eyes widened.

In the dim orange light Law stood before him, his arms crossed in front of his body, as he stared down his nose at him. Penguin gaped at him for a moment, until his brain finally had processed what he had said.

“What? What urgent matter?”

One of Law’s eyes ticked visibly.

“I was told-”

The graining sound of the door’s closing mechanism interrupted his sentence and both of them whirled their head around to stare at the door. There was a red light next to it, indicating that it had been closed from the outside.

His heart pounding in his chest, Penguin slowly turned his head to look at Law, who still stared dumbfounded at the door. He swallowed.

“You know, you could easily use your ability to get out of here.”

Obviously that was the wrong thing to say, as Law looked murderously at him.

“I won’t waste my strength for something stupid as that!” he growled and punched the metal door and hissed as he hurt himself. Penguin didn’t want to point out that he’d used his ability to relocate himself as he had kissed him the first time.

He busied himself by continuing to clean the pipes for a few minutes.

There was only one person he could think of who was bold enough to lock the two of them up and he would be in hell of trouble when they got out. What did Shachi think to accomplish with this? He would only make Law even more angry at him as he already was.

Finally, Law seemed to have given up at glaring daggers at the door and slid down next to him. His shirt was already soaked with sweat from the stifling heat inside the room.

“Before you ask: I had nothing to do with it.” Penguin told him without glancing up. He hoped Law believed him.

“I hope so, because if I find out that you-”

Penguin interrupted him.

“I didn’t! Okay? I’ve learned my lesson.”

After a few minutes of silence between them Penguin gave up and threw the dirty cloth on the floor and sat beside Law, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

“I’m sorry that I kissed you again,” he said despite his earlier thoughts. There wasn’t anything else to say and he just could not bear any second of this silence any longer. He should really have left it at that, but his stupid mouth decided to open itself again. “It was like – I couldn’t control myself. I didn’t do it to hurt you or to break your trust. But I can’t say that I … that I don’t want to do it again. Because I do.” He gulped and dared to steal a short look at Law, whose ears began to glow faintly red.

There was a long silence until Law spoke.

“What shocked me the most,” he began, “wasn’t what you did twice to me. I was more shocked at the fact that there was something so profound going on in you from which I had absolutely no idea before.”

Penguin balled his hands into fists.

“So you’re not … disgusted by me? You know, because I’m a man and all that?”

Law snorted.

“I don’t care about that, Pen,” he said and there was something in his voice and the way he spoke his name that kindled the embers inside him, the flames licking higher again. Law looked up and their eyes met and this time Penguin didn’t look away.

“What do you care about then?” he whispered, even if his question had to be mostly drowned out by the machines. He saw Law’s pupils dilate as their faces where only inches apart, the poor light deepening the shadows beneath them. There was plenty of time to turn his face away from him or to shove him away, but he didn’t, and Penguin tentatively touched his lips with his own.

Law’s breath stuttered, his eyes closing shut, as Penguin moved his mouth against Law’s, getting familiar with the strange feeling. He inched closer on his knees, never breaking contact and dared to put a hand on his shoulder. He was tense, the muscles beneath his fingers hard as rock, and he tried to keep the kiss gentle, nibbling on Law’s lower lip and stroking it lightly with his tongue. His heart thundered in his chest and he trembled. Anytime now Law would push him away and punish him for what he had done, but the moment never came. Instead, Penguin opened his eyes to watch him, never having been so near his captain before. As he stroked his hand from his shoulder to his neck, his fingers curling into the sweaty hair, he slid his tongue inside the other’s mouth and swallowed the resulting gasp, sealing his mouth shut again.

Law smelled of copper and something cooler, something he couldn’t identify. He tried to breath him in, to memorize all of those subtle sounds escaping Law’s throat as long as this lasted. Heat curled between their bodies and pooled deep in his belly as he shuffled even closer. His jumpsuit clung tightly against his sweat-soaked body, but he didn’t care as he molded himself against his captain and pressed him with the back against the machine he had worked on just a few minutes before.

Law moaned quietly and the sound traveled instantly southwards. Tentatively he moved his lips against Penguin’s in a way that was both shy and curious, as if he hadn’t done something like this before, and the thought alone was enough to break Penguin’s already brittle self control even more down. A foreign tongue brushed his own and immediately retreated, but Penguin chased it back into Law’s mouth, the inside hot and wet and-

A sudden creak startled him and he whirled around. The wheel on their side of the door turned. He snapped his gaze back to Law, who stared at him with wide eyes and red cheeks, the menacing sound of the badly oiled hinges resounding through the cramped room. Then he got up and Penguin hurried to do the same and rubbed his hands over his face just in time for the door to open and Bepo peeking in.

“Hey, Captain! Why’s the door closed?” he asked, his furry face shining with confusion. Penguin opened his mouth to answer him, although he had no clue what to say, but Law beat him to it.

“We wanted to examine if the door needs to be oiled. Unfortunately we weren’t able to open it again, so it clearly does. Thank you for helping us out, Bepo.” He smiled tightly at him and the small praise immediately did what his captain surely had anticipated: Bepo scratched his head and Penguin could swear he would have seen the navigator blush if it wasn’t hidden with his fur.

“Oh, no problem, Captain!” He peered further into the machine room. “Do you need help with anything else?”

“No, thank you, Bepo. That would be all.”

Bepo smiled, then he saluted and turned around, leaving Penguin alone with his captain again. For some reason he doubted that his affections would be received with the same enthusiasm now, though.

Law’s eyes slid to him, slightly narrowed and calculating. Penguin felt shrunken under the scrutinizing gaze.

“Meet me in my quarters this evening. And don’t forget to knock.”

With that, he left the machine room and Penguin behind. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out in what fresh hell he had brought himself this time.

 

After tinkering in and cleaning the machine room for the rest of the day and finally taking a long, relaxing shower until the water turned cold, he finally went on his way to his execution. This was how it felt, anyway. The only reason Law hadn’t ripped him a new one a few hours ago probably was that he didn’t want to make a scene where anybody could find them at any time – like Bepo’s sudden arrival had shown. In the privacy of his own quarters however he would be as safe as a pig in a slaughterhouse.

Adjusting his hat and straightening his posture, even if his muscles were still sore from the day’s hard work, he knocked on his captain’s door.

For a few long moments there was no reaction.

Then, suddenly, the door was opened by a crack and finally opened further, revealing Law who stood tired and with his arms folded in front of his chest. Hesitantly Penguin entered the room. Fortunately the Straw Hat woman was nowhere in sight, but the evidence of their combined work still lay on the desk: several tomes of various size lay scattered on top of the dark wood, possibly the only fine woodwork on the ship. Law followed his gaze.

“She left half an hour ago,” he mumbled and stood statue-like in the middle of the room as if he were the intruder.

“Any progress?” He just wanted to say something – anything – even if it meant circumventing the elephant in the room. He leaned with his back against the wall next to the desk, his eyes flitting to one of the books which lay open, a pencil in the middle of it to mark the page.

“Not much.” Finally, Law shifted his stance and brokes the illusion to be made of marble ( _there wasn’t any marble as dark as his skin_ , Penguin thought fleetingly, _it was more like somebody had decided to melt caramel into a particularly delicious form_ ). “We’ve found a few more descriptions of the illness which had befallen the townspeople, but the rest of the books tend to be more vague about the subject.”

Penguin licked his lips and held his gaze.

“What kind of descriptions?”

“Symptoms, mostly. But I think that some of them are still missing – until now the book only spoke of a fever, which slowly increases of the course of weeks, which alone is unusual. Normally, the body induces a fever to heal itself, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for this illness.”

“That’s really not normal.”

How much longer could he delay the inevitable turn of this conversation? He put his hands flat against the surface of the wall, anchoring him in the present.

“No, it isn’t.” Suddenly, Law took a step further to him. “But that isn’t what I wanted to discuss with you.”

Penguin gulped.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Do you? I’m not so sure.” Law raised an eyebrow. “You are terribly pale. What do you think it is I’m planning to do to you?”

“I’m kinda hoping it’s not repairing and cleaning the machine room again because that really would be redundant and also my back hurts like a-”

“I don’t want to punish you!” Law declared wide-eyed. “What gave you that idea?”

“Well, maybe because of what happened the last time I kissed you?”

There, he said it. The giant elephant in the room trumpeted and vanished. Suddenly he was very thankful for the wall in his back, otherwise he wasn’t sure if his weak knees would have held him any longer.

Law looked thoughtful.

“I see,” he murmured, nearly to quiet for Penguin to hear. “Then let me put this straight right now.”

With that, he closed the distance between them in two long strides, suddenly standing directly in front of him until Penguin nearly crossed his eyes, and pecked him on the lips.

It was over before Penguin had any chance to process what has happened. Law took a step back, his arms almost casually at his sides, but his hands were balled into tight fists as he met his eyes. And waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet nobody has foreseen that development :D (Or maybe you did, I don't know - but Penguin certainly didn't!)  
> Law really is hot'n'cold, isn't he? ;)
> 
> It really is much more satisfying to curse in English than in German. :3


	5. Chapter 5

There was a certain way Trafalgar Law held himself when he expected to battle. He stood completely still, hands on his sides and not balled into fists anymore as one might suspect – on first glance and for the eye of someone who didn’t know him he might even appear relaxed, if it weren’t for the way his eyes darted from left to right every few seconds, examining his surroundings and any impending threats.

That was the way he held himself now and it broke Penguin’s heart to see it.

His mind processed what had happened only slowly. He had kissed him. Kissed him. An innocent peck on the lips, less touch than even the first kiss Penguin had forced onto him, but this meant so much more. This wasn’t a dream. This was reality, but he-

“I don’t understand,” Penguin croaked, not daring to touch his lips lest this action erased the traces of his mouth on his.

Law huffed and the impression blew away like dust.

“Don’t … act stupid. You know what I meant,” he said, his eyes flicking to him for a second before settling on some point behind him.

“Yeah, but – you didn’t – I thought you didn’t want that?” Penguin fidgeted. “Did you change your mind or what? I don’t understand.”

Law hesitated. He opened his mouth a few times as if to say something, but closed it again before any sound could come through. It was anguish to wait, but Penguin’s instincts told him this was an important moment. He had to wait for what Law had to say.

“I didn’t change my mind,” Law finally said. “It’s true, you surprised me with … what you did. But I have thought about it ever since you did it. And I came to a conclusion.” He shivered visibly before he continued. “I don’t care much about me being your captain anymore. I just want to see this mission through and then I’m on my way. So why should I deny myself something like this? I’m willing to give it a try.”

It was so unexpected that the first few seconds Penguin just stood there not being able to react. Then all of a sudden his thoughts rushed through his brain almost faster than he could process – Law wanted to kiss him – he wanted to _try_ it with him – but it had an expiration date, hadn’t it? - but he could _kiss_ Law now and he wouldn’t object – he should tell Shachi right _now_ – but did he even like him or did he only want to fool around-

Slowly, Penguin reached up with one hand and touched the side of his neck. A shudder went through the man in front of him and he pulled him closer, until he could feel the heat of his body against his own, heavily leaning against him as he slid his hand into the hair at the back of his neck. He half expected him to push him away again, but Law didn’t move as he carefully pulled his head closer, leaving him enough time to reject him, to say that he misunderstood or that he changed his mind, and then their lips met for the second time this evening. Law’s breath hitched and his eyes fell shut.

It was the first time Penguin gave himself the time to really enjoy the feel of him. His lips were dry and slightly parched and as he pushed his tongue past them he tasted coffee and something cool, like ice, which he had noticed earlier. Law had the full length of his body pushed against him, trapping him with his towering height. One of his hands settled on Penguin’s hip.

There was no finesse in this kiss. There were only wet sounds, harsh breaths and the rustle of Law’s hat as it fell from his head down to the floor. Law wasn’t even a good kisser. He seemed to be undecided on what to do, his tongue sometimes stroking against his own, sometimes retreating as if he were afraid, his breath coming in harsh gulps as if he couldn’t figure out when to come up for air. But it didn’t matter to Penguin. He just wanted to kiss him forever, to wreck him even more, to feel his hot skin against his own and hear the tiny moans rising in volume each time he gently nibbled at his lower lip.

Law was incredibly sensitive. When he touched his neck goosebumps appeared on his skin and as he kissed the side of his mouth, then his chin, his cheek and then finally the shell of his ear, he harshly sucked breath in. Penguin let his free hand slide down his back until it rested just above his hipbones and licked his ear.

“Am I allowed to-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Law nodded, and he slid his hand even further down. He could feel him harden against one of his legs, just a tiny twitch, but that was all the compliance he needed: While one hand began to knead his ass, his face tucked into the hollow of Law’s neck, the other frantically began to fumble the button of his jeans open. He felt Law’s fast breath on his neck as the button finally plopped open and he kissed the skin of his neck as he pushed his hand beneath the waistband, only an inch or so, and felt the flutter of Law’s stomach muscles, apprehension keeping him still.

He was finally going to do this. Law wanted him to. Law was hard, painfully so, his length pressing against his leg and all Penguin wanted to do was to get all of these clothes off of him and ravish him.

But there was this one thing that whispered in the back of his mind – this indecision, the shudders wrecking the tall frame of his maybe-lover for each tiny touch of his hands – and he knew, even in this hazy state of his mind, even if he was absolutely astonished about that, that Law hadn’t much experience in things like this. Maybe even none.

So he slowed down. Only the tips of his fingers remained beneath the waistband, carefully brushing the soft skin beneath, as he listened to Law’s breathing slow down, the frantic beat of his heart against his chest calming. Only then, when he was sure that he didn’t take advantage of the sudden moment, he continued to rub tiny circles into the skin of his belly, each one of them drawing deeper, his fingertips brushing the trail of sparse hair leading down. Law kept silent, but he held onto him, and as Penguin lifted his head just this small fraction, he saw that his ears where red and the glow extended even to the part of his cheeks he could see from this position.

God, he was _embarrassed_.

And he didn’t wear any underwear. The spark of his own arousal flared again and he unzipped Law's jeans, pushing them down a bit and grasped his cock, eliciting a startled moan from his captain, which he immediately tried to muffle against his neck.

“Don’t,” Penguin whispered in his ear, noticing the hair on his neck forming into goosebumps.

The skin of his cock was still dry and Penguin brushed a thumb over the sensitive skin of the head, where he already was leaking precum, and smeared it around the first inches, at first stroking him only with two of his fingers. It was not more than a tease, but Law already couldn’t keep still and began to buck into his hand in tiny, only half-controlled motions. He wouldn’t last long, not if he was really as inexperienced as he assumed.

But Penguin wanted more, he didn’t only want a quick hand job against the wall, he wanted to taste him, wanted to feel the weight of his cock on his tongue. And so he slid down, ignoring the confused sound leaving Law’s mouth, and knelt before him. The floor was hard, but he didn’t care. He just wanted a short glance at his face before he began in earnest, and he nearly came then and there – Law braced himself against the wall, nowhere to hide his flushed face and the wide blow of his pupils, his lips pressed tightly together, and Penguin took his cock in his hand again and stuck his tongue out and touched the tiny slit of his head with the point of it.

Law’s thighs trembled and as he slowly, carefully took the head of his cock in his mouth and licked him to get him even wetter, his hips stuttered forward. Penguin took hold of them to keep them in place, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep him absolutely still from this position if he really lost control.

He wasn’t bigger than Shachi, he noticed at the same time as he asked himself why he would think about Shachi in this moment. They had about the same length, but Shachi’s had to be a bit thicker whereas Law’s was more straight. He carefully licked his way down, taking him deeper each time his head bopped down, until the head brushed his throat. He was never ably to take it any further, so he took hold of the base of the cock to make up for that, stroking over the heated flesh in the same rhythm he took him in his mouth, his tongue busily flicking against the sensitive underside.

Law losing control was a beautiful thing. His hips began to buck more forceful against him, sliding deeper into his mouth than he anticipated, and his cock became even more hot and heavy on his tongue, as he couldn’t hold himself fully upright, his body folding himself around him, the wet slide of his cock into his mouth accelerating and all Penguin could do was to hold on and keep his mouth open as he suddenly became still and salt poured over his tongue, filling his senses.

He slipped out and Penguin helped him come down to his knees, settling beside him, and drew his boneless body into a hug. He had swallowed, even if it didn’t taste good, but he didn’t want to stand up and ruin the moment. Instead, he brushed his fingers against Law’s chin, turning his face around and up to kiss him, the taste of his come still on his lips.

Law’s hand touched the side of his hips. He seemed hesitant, his eyes flicking through the room without settling on anything, as he carefully placed it on the bulge tenting his jumpsuit and began to stroke.

Penguin shuddered and held him tighter, his gaze fixated on the tattooed hand moving over the cloth, changing rhythm every now and then, stroking sometimes faster and sometimes slower, as if measuring every reaction, and it wasn’t long as Penguin felt tension and heat coil in his belly, and he let his head fall back against the wall and came, still fully clothed.

Law was the first to move.

He entangled himself from the embrace and stood up, tucking himself back into his jeans and pulling the zipper up. After a moment of searching he found his hat lying on the floor, picked it up and put it back on his head again. It was a transformation if he ever had seen one – from Law, lying pliantly against his side, stroking him into a frenzy, to his captain, standing above him and looking at some point next to his head.

“There’s one condition,” Law said, and it was as if his dick hadn’t recently made intimate contact with Penguin’s mouth, his voice and posture back to normal, “and that is that all that has happened between us and all that will happen remains in this room. Nobody will learn of this.” It was then that his eyes finally met Penguin’s, still sitting on the floor, the mess inside his jumpsuit cooling. “And I don’t want you to forget: This will only last until we defeat Kaido, and then I’ll still leave the crew.”

He should be shocked, he should be hurt, but it wasn’t like he didn’t _know_ Law. It’s because he did that he managed to keep his eyes dry and swallow around the hard lump in his throat and nodded. He stood up, his height not quite enough to meet Law’s eyes without tilting his head back, and kissed him on the cheek.

His hat lay on the floor where he had to have lost it some time in the last few minutes, and he put it back on, grateful for the way it shaded the upper half of his face. Throwing one last glance at Law, he left his quarters.

As he shuffled trough the hallways, now deserted at the late hour, his mood gradually improved. He finally did it! After days of avoiding him Law had finally agreed to a relationship with him. Penguin wasn’t completely sure why and the fact that he also didn’t want to continue it after their battle with Kaido sat heavily in his stomach. But that was something to worry about later.

He had a spring in his step as he arrived at his own quarters after a few minutes and opened the door. Shachi was lying on his bed, one hand thrown over his stomach and the other over his eyes. But he wasn’t sleeping, Penguin noticed as he closed the door behind him, put his hat down on the nearby desk and came towards the bed, since Shachi lifted the arm on his face just a bit to peer over to him.

“Had a fun night?”

Penguin smiled brightly.

“You won’t guess what just happened.”

Shachi sat up, holding his arms wide, but Penguin hesitated. Of course he couldn’t continue the thing he had with Shachi now; even if Law and him hadn’t talked about this particular part of their relationship he was pretty sure that the two of them were exclusive. It simply was the norm. But cuddling sure had to be allowed?

Shachi frowned and lowered his arms a bit. He opened his mouth as if to ask something, but the next moment Penguin shuffled closer over the bed and leaned against him. Shachi immediately enclosed him in an embrace, sticking his nose in his hair.

“So, what happened? You sure seem happy,” Shachi finally asked and kissed the top of his head. Penguin tensed.

“Well, here’s the thing. Law and I-”

“You’ve got a stain on your trousers.”

Penguin blushed.

“Yeah I know, no need to remind me!” He began to play with one of Shachi’s fingers resting on his shoulder. “But yeah, um, Law and I … are a couple now.”

There was no immediate reaction. Instead, Shachi tensed, his fingers digging into his shoulders and he felt him hold his breath and releasing it a few seconds later.

“I see,” Shachi finally said. Yet he didn’t release him, it was quite the opposite: He pulled him even closer, his face buried in the mess of Penguin’s dark hair.

“Sorry, but it happened so fast. Law wanted to see me this evening and I was sure that something bad would happen, like further punishment or something like that, but then he suddenly kissed me, and – well, we made out, and I think he hasn’t much experience because he wasn’t that good, you know?” He smiled against Shachi’s chest. “But it was just so great.”

“That’s really great for you.”

Penguin tried to lift his head to see the expression on Shachi’s face, but the redhead held onto him more forcefully and didn’t let him move.

“I’m sorry that … you know … this thing between us had to end. But that’s how it was since the beginning, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. It was.”

Shachi didn’t move and it didn’t seem as if he wanted to let go of him for the foreseeable future. So Penguin ceased his struggle and leaned heavily against him, closing his eyes and indulged the last time in what the two of them had.

 

Law peered down from the hatch to Penguin.

“You will be careful, won’t you?”

Penguin nodded. He was sitting in the shuttle again, perched behind the steering wheel, his long legs folded in front of him in the most comfortable position he could muster. He had asked his captain again if he could dive down to the ruins and after a long glare (and a few stolen kisses) he had allowed it. But only if he was careful and if he would turn around at the slightest sign of danger.

Connor sat behind him. Penguin would have protested the choice of his teammate had he not known that it would be useless and at the worst endanger his own permission for this mission. He hoped he wouldn’t interfere with him as much as last time, but he knew that Connor wasn’t the bravest one of the batch.

Law sent him one last look and then closed the hatch above them.

The darkness engulfed them as soon as they left the Polar Tang, the two lights of the shuttle diminishing after a few meters in the black water. Steadily diving deeper they reached the ruins after only a short while. Penguin steered the shuttle over the sunken roofs of the city, not bothering to keep his attention on anything else than his goal: The building of the library came soon into view. The double doors stood open and as he steered the shuttle trough them he saw that the previous expedition had reinforced them with some steel bars so that the doors couldn’t fall shut again.

Connor hadn’t uttered a single word to him since their departure and he wouldn’t break the silence and encourage him by talking to him. He hadn’t said a single word to their captain as far as he could tell.

He glided over the broad staircase and let the shuttle float slowly further with the momentum they had as he took in the sight for a second time. Rows over rows of books lined the walls and as he tilted his head back the shelves disappeared into the darkness of the vaulted ceiling, the highest point not visible in the sparse light they had brought with them.

He wordlessly began to scan one of the shelves with the light, trying to read the names on the covers. They seemed to be written in a language and font unknown to him and he remembered the books lying open on Law’s desk, seemingly in the same mysterious script. Well, he had to guess then.

The shuttle had two gripper arms which he used to pry the books from the shelves and carefully stored them into a box he had lowered from the shuttle’s belly. He hoped he hadn’t stumbled over the cook book section, but there was no way to know without the help of the Straw Hat’s archaeologist. Was the city abandoned long before the sea had engulfed it? Or was it only another tragedy heaped onto them besides the plague killing them?

“How much longer will you need?” Connor finally broke the sweet silence. Penguin grit his teeth.

“Five minutes tops. It isn’t easy to maneuver these arms, you know?”

“I’m just saying we’re running out of air.”

“Bullshit.” Penguin put another book into the box and glanced at the display. “We have another forty minutes left and we only need twenty-five to return to the Polar Tang.” Seriously, why was he even here? He wasn’t able to steer the shuttle, he knew nothing of the Deep Sea and all he did was to whine in his ears.

“I’m not comfortable with only ten minutes buffer,” Connor complained.

 _And I’m not comfortable with your whining_ , Penguin thought, but he kept silent and managed to recover another book. But he had the box filled to the brim with the ancient books, so he closed it and retracted the gripper arms to the underside of the shuttle and turned around. Next time he’d absolutely take another crew mate.

“Seriously, why are you so afraid?” he asked as they drove through the door and into the open sea. “If you’re not comfortable with the risk, why did you become a pirate anyway? Or if it’s just too much to dive this deep, why are you on the only crew with a submarine?”

Connor’s answer came only as the Polar Tang came into view.

“It wasn’t my choice,” he said, his hands gripping the backrest of Penguin’s seat. “I haven’t planned it, but sometimes you just have to roll with what’s given to you.”

Well, if he put it like that, Penguin could definitively sign it.


	6. Chapter 6

Connor was thankfully silent as the exited the shuttle. Penguin jumped on the wet floor, released the metal box from its hinges and heaved it up. God, these books were heavy, but Law surely would be excited to have more of them. He really hoped that the books would shed some further light onto the mystery he and Robin tried to unravel and if some more trips and more recovered books were something he could help with he was satisfied.

His teammate had already left and he hummed to himself as he walked to the door and into the hallways carrying the heavy box. Of course he wouldn’t help him, that dick. But this would present a perfect opportunity for him to kiss Law when he reached his quarters to tell him the news (if Robin wasn’t there, something he sincerely hoped). But first he had to make a stop at the room they used to restore and dry the books.

Leaving a wet trail on the floor he moved around the corner only to collide with someone. The impact let him drop the box and the lid sprang open, scattering the still wet books between him and his best friend.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there!” Penguin began to pick the books up and put them back into the container. After a short moment Shachi did the same, but didn’t meet his eyes. Penguin bit his lip. “Um … did I hurt you? Have you stubbed your toe or something?”

Shachi shook his head.

“No, I … no. You didn’t hurt me,” he said, picking himself up. “I see your mission was successful?”

“Oh, yes! Law will be really happy! Of course I don’t know if the books are about anything important as I can’t read the script, but I hope he will appreciate them anyway.” He grinned at him and Shachi smiled hesitantly back.

“That’s … that’s great, Pen.” He reached for him, as if to touch him, but halted at the last moment. “See you soon. I’ve got something to do.”

He left as suddenly as they had ran into each other, leaving Penguin confused in the wet puddle. Shachi obviously had something on his mind. They had been friends for so long it was impossible for him to hide it from him. But why did he want to hide it anyway? They could talk about anything, they were best friends! Lifting the container again he continued his walk.

He would just ask him when they were alone.

 

After five days in a depth of one kilometer the captain finally gave the command to surface. Compressed air filled the ballast tanks, slowly reducing the density of the ship until its nose pointed slightly upwards. The whole crew waited impatiently until the submarine broke through the surface. Penguin could feel the slight rocking motion of the waves now that they weren’t beneath the water level anymore.

He couldn’t wait to leave the ship and breathe the fresh air in. After weeks of being confined in the narrow space of the submarine and constantly sweating in the hot, stale air he just wanted to jump into the ocean and cool himself down. But there was something to do first.

He grinned as he knocked on the door to the captain’s quarters, nearly jumping up and down as Law opened the door and stared at him unimpressed.

“You _have_ to come out!” Penguin blurted out. Law still looked as if he had tasted something disturbing.

“Oh? Do I now?”

“Please? It’s been weeks and the sun and fresh air will be good for you!”

“I have work to do.”

“Oh, come on! Those ruins are around 800 years old, you said so yourself! What’s a day or two more?” He leaned against the door frame, a sudden idea coming to his mind. “Or … if you want, we could stay in and do something else.”

The idea had merit, but at this moment he really would prefer to leave the ship. Law narrowed his eyes.

“Very well then.” He sighed, closed the door behind him and locked the room. “I’ll come with you. And remember: Don’t get handsy in front of the crew.”

Penguin grinned and pecked him on the cheek. He simply had to use his last chance to do so for the next few hours.

“Aye aye, captain!”

A few minutes later they emerged from the submarine and the cool air hit Penguin straight in the face. The crew had opened the broad doors leading down into the submarine. Now most of them were on the small deck, lounging on the hard metal floor or taking a quick jump into the ocean. He could see Bepo floating near the submarine, pure bliss on his furry face and as he glanced to Law he noticed a small smile forming on his lips as well. It had been a good idea to bring him here.

He unzipped his jumpsuit and stepped out of it, now only clad in a thin white tank top and boxers. Also getting rid of the shirt he stepped to the railing and grinned at his captain.

“I’m gonna take a dip, so see you later!”

And with that he jumped over the railing. He hit the water a second later and he clenched his eyes shut to protect them from the saltwater. He could feel the temperature difference as he dived deeper from the momentum of the jump, the slightly warmer water near the surface rapidly making way for cooler temperatures. He began to kick his legs and broke the surface again.

How he’d missed this! It was like he felt clean again for the first time in ages and he began to scrub at his skin to get rid of the sweat and dirt of the day. As he looked up, he could see Law leaning with both arms onto the railing, his face turned to the blazing sun, his eyes closed. He really wanted to kiss him, but the railing was more than five meters above him and he wasn’t allowed to anyway. Maybe he could sneak a kiss from him this evening, shortly before the Polar Tang dived again and nobody would be around anymore.

But that was wishful thinking. His captain was meticulous when it came to all matters regarding the safety of the crew, and diving the submarine was one of those things. He wouldn’t view it with kindness if he tried to distract them from what he saw as his duty.

But why did he want to leave the crew if he took his duty as the captain so serious? It didn’t make any sense in Penguin’s mind. 

He dived again, this time opening his eyes to slits. He was able to open his eyes underwater, what pirate would he be if he couldn’t? The water underneath him was clear and blue, no sign of any fishes or other life around him, but he couldn’t see very far. They probably had scared the fish away with their loud shouting.

Suddenly someone else jumped into the water directly in front of him, nearly colliding with his body. Penguin let loose a cloud of bubbles and emerged again, gasping for air. Next to him something red broke the surface and Shachi slicked his hair back and grinned at him.

“Goddammit, Shachi, you nearly hit me!” Penguin exclaimed, but he grinned back. The last time he had seen him, there seemed to be something on his mind, but there was not trace of that left now.

Shachi grinned cheekily.

“My bad. Didn’t see ya there.”

Oh, that was a _lie_.

He splashed water at him and Shachi tried to dodge it, only being half successful. Soon they had a full blown battle going on, neither side giving even an inch in. Shachi was physically stronger than him and tried to grab him, but Penguin was more flexible and a better swimmer, so he easily evaded him every time. Again Shachi tried to grab him, but Penguin dived down and beneath him, catching one of his kicking feet in one hand and pulled him down. A cloud of bubbles escaped Shachi’s mouth as he tried to gasp for air and Penguin released his feet so he could swim to the surface again.

But Shachi didn’t do so, but dived down to him and grabbed his shoulders. Before he had any chance to react he suddenly had him pulled against his chest and pressed his mouth against his own, stealing the air from him.

All he wanted to do was kiss him back. They had never done something like that outside of the submarine and only a few times outside of the safe confines of their own quarters. It was rash, but Penguin just wanted to hold him until one of them needed air. It wasn’t so long ago that they had kissed for the last time, but it already felt like a long time.

But _Law_ -

Penguin pushed him away and immediately kicked the water to get above to the surface again. As Shachi emerged next to him he looked up to the railing where Law still had his face turned to the sun, but his eyes where closed and he didn’t seem to have noticed anything of what had happened. He turned to Shachi.

“Don’t do that again,” he whispered and swam away.

Shachi didn’t follow him.

Penguin didn’t understand. There was _hurt_ in Shachi’s eyes, but that didn’t make any sense. They had only let off some steam with each other and his friend had even encouraged him time and time again to pursue his feelings and even if they hadn’t talked about it he was sure that Shachi was the culprit behind the machine room incident. So why was he upset? What could he do to make it better?

He dived beneath the submarine, a difficult feat if you couldn’t hold your breath for too long or wasn’t as good a swimmer as himself. His lungs began to burn as he reached the keel and began to swim upwards, his strong legs kicking the water to reach the surface again. There was a ladder and he climbed on board the ship again, shaking the droplets from his body and sprawled himself out on the deck. The sun was warm on his back and began to dry him quickly. It was a beautiful day and he just wanted to enjoy it.

Shachi didn’t follow him. He didn’t even know if he had come back on the deck again.

He spotted Law at the railing and hesitated shortly before making his way to him. Settling down cross-legged next to him, still some distance between them so nobody would notice it as strange behavior, he tried to get his emotions under control. He didn’t get it. Was there more to Shachi’s actions than he had thought? Yes, he missed him, too, but this would surely go away with time. There was no way you could simply throw away a relationship like theirs after all those years even if it meant nothing but a quick release or comfort after an exhausting battle.

He glanced to the side, where Law still stood at the railing, his dark skin peeking out from the end of his trousers. He really had beautiful feet, all narrow ankles and sharp contours just like the rest of his body (as far as he had seen and _no, Penguin, don’t think about that while you’re wearing only your boxers!_ ).

“Want to play cards?” he asked him mindlessly, just to get rid of his thoughts. Law looked down at him, a careful expression on his face. Finally, he nodded.

“Sure, why not.”

He sat down on the deck opposite of him and Penguin waved at Bepo, who had just climbed up and shook himself, water splashing everywhere and earning laughter from the crew. Bepo approached them.

“Want to play, too?”

Soon, the Straw Hats joined them, too – Robin, whom he still was bit wary of, the boisterous Franky and the silent and brooding Zoro, a swordsman like his captain (even if three swords were a bit much, if you’d ask him – did he have to compensate for something or what?). They began a game of bridge and soon Law, who was leaning against Bepo’s left side, was in the lead as his poker-face gave him a distinct advantage. Franky was the one with the least points, but he didn’t seem to mind much, grinning and congratulating Robin when she made a good move or gave Law a run for his money. Zoro had dozed off after a few rounds and leaned against the railing, drool dripping down his chin.

Law really was amazing. Penguin wasn’t nearly as good as him at card games, mostly because he couldn’t keep a straight face when he had a good hand. But the way he played, a mix of calculated risk and foreseeing his opponent’s moves, reminded him of the way he fought, too. He wanted to touch him badly, to stroke his sun-kissed ankles or grip his tousled hair. He wanted to feel his breath against his skin, and protect him from whatever nightmares he had left after defeating Doflamingo. He didn’t know the whole story behind that – nobody did – but he could make a few guesses and probably be mostly right about them.

But there were too many eyes to see.

He played a card, hoping that it would be enough against the ones of the others, and continued to watch Law. He was nibbling on his lower lip, probably unconsciously, eyes alternately concentrating on the cards in his hands and those in their midst. Penguin tried to deduct what he was thinking – had he a good hand or a bad one? Would he try to bluff? But apart from abusing his lip there was no other hint of that and he soon gave up, satisfying himself by simply watching him.

“I win,” Robin eventually said, a small smile crinkling in the corner of her mouth. “Maybe I should go back to the library now, there are still some things I want to research.”

“Please don’t go yet, Robin!” Franky interrupted. “It’s still early! How about poker?”

Penguin, who only had made fourth place, rolled his eyes, tempted to call it quits and laze in the sun, but the challenging gleam in his captain’s eyes let him pause. Most crew members – especially those who weren’t part of the Heart Pirates for long, wouldn’t notice it, but for him there was no way to mistake it: Law was having fun.

He stretched his arms over himself, getting rid of the stiff muscles in his back, and began to shuffle the cards just as a shadow cast over him.

“Mind if we join?”

Shachi stood behind him and he had to tilt his head back and narrow his eyes to see him in the slowly sinking sun. He had Connor in tow, who stood a few feet behind him, looking hesitant. He swallowed.

“Yeah.” He moved to the side to make room for them. “Of course.”

He tried to catch Shachi’s expression as he distributed the cards. He looked sad, keeping his eyes down and seemingly concentrated on the cards, but as he picked them up he didn’t even glance at them and as they began to play there was no way mistaking it that his heart wasn’t really in it. Penguin easily got more points than him, something which rarely happened normally. He lowered his cards a bit, not so much that some of the others could see his hand, but he didn’t want to play anymore. He wanted to talk to Shachi, but he had to wait till evening to get him alone. He glanced at Law again, who still was concentrated on battling Robin. What would he think if he knew what had happened between them? Or what they had been to each other before he fell in love with him?

“Penguin? It’s your turn.” Law looked at him expectantly. Penguin hurried to put down a card, not caring which one. Had he just thought of love? It wasn’t like he hadn’t contemplated it before, but now that he had thought of it so casually, as if it didn’t need any further consideration, he realized that he had walked down this path a long time ago.

He played a random card, ignoring the confused look on Law’s face as he placed it in the middle on top of the other cards. The sun stood low on the horizon and soon they would have to go back into the submarine and dive to a save depth again. The game continued, but he soon had no chance of winning anymore with the way he played, and he passed the time lying on the deck, his head near Law’s thighs, and inhaled the evening air until it became dark and the others left one by one, until it was only him, Shachi, Bepo, who was lying snoring on the deck, and Law, who was leaning against his fluffy side.

“We should go inside,” Shachi said finally, interrupting the awkward silence. Penguin wished he would go so he could have a moment with Law and hated himself the same moment he thought it. His captain nodded, but made no move to stand up. Instead, he carefully prodded Bepo in the stomach and stirred him awake.

“Please bring him into the ship, Shachi,” he then said, leaning forward as Bepo yawned and stood up, still half-asleep. Shachi stared down at him, his eyes flicking between them, then his mouth formed a thin line.

“Aye aye, captain.” He put a hand onto Bepo’s back and led him to the doors, sending the two of them one last look before he went through them.

Law glanced at him and Penguin shuffled closer.

“Is it safe?” he whispered, even if there was no way he could stop himself now.

Placing a hand against Law’s cheek, he tilted his head to kiss him, their lips sliding slowly against each other. He had a bad conscience because of the way Law had handled Shachi, but at the same time he was grateful for this short moment they had alone with each other. Maybe it was impossible to have something as good at this without losing something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, I'm actually not entirely satisfied with this chapter. While writing this I realized it's difficult to write about swimming. Or maybe it's only so for me, because I constantly struggled not to write 'swim' and 'dive' too often ^^°  
> Also, I have no idea how to play bridge or poker.


	7. Chapter 7

Even if not all was well, he and Law settled into an easy rhythm. While nothing seemed to have changed between them as far as any onlookers were concerned, the moment the door to Law’s quarters closed behind them it was entirely different: Penguin couldn’t keep his hands of his newly acquired boyfriend (even if neither of them had called it that yet out loud and he doubted Law would anytime soon) and Law gave in every time, meeting his kisses with the curiosity of someone who really was new to this aspect of life.

Sometimes it made him dizzy – to think that someone as beautiful and intelligent as Law was untouched. He didn’t care about things like that normally. The upside to someone with a history was that he knew what to do, what to expect and how to act to elicit certain reactions. Law had none of that and sometimes even was clumsy, but for some reason Penguin relished every second of their first everythings – the first time he kissed him after he had agreed to a relationship, the first time he touched his neck, the first time he sent goosebumps down his back by kissing his shoulder.

It never was enough. The entire day he was brimming with nervous energy because the day couldn’t pass fast enough and even at night, when he finally left his quarters, he had to force himself not to turn on the spot and ask him for just one more kiss.

He whipped back and forth on his feet in the kitchen as he brewed a fresh pot of coffee. It was still early in the morning, but he hadn’t been able to sleep much anyway because his roommate had kept tossing and turning. He had whispered to him through the darkness of the room because he still had wanted to talk to him, but had received no answer. Maybe he had only had a bad dream and wasn’t even awake. He knew the coffee would only keep his energy up for so long, but he mostly made it for Law anyway.

As if on cue he could hear nearly silent footsteps approaching the kitchen and a moment later Law stepped in, halting as he saw him.

“You’re up early,” Law finally said and Penguin shrugged his shoulders.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Law came up next to him.

“Why?”

Penguin busied himself by fetching two mugs from the cupboards before he answered.

“Shachi was-” He stopped himself. He didn’t know why, it was just too personal, or that was how it felt anyway. “He was snoring.”

Law stared for a moment and then snorted.

“My condolences,” he said as he filled both mugs with coffee, one to the brim and the other about two thirds. He glanced at him. “You take yours with milk, don’t you?”

Penguin nodded, unable to tear his eyes off him as he opened the refrigerator, got the milk carton and then poured some milk into his mug. He waited until he had put the carton back and as Law turned around once more he caged him against the refrigerator. Law’s eyes widened before a scowl appeared on his face.

“Don’t do that where anybody can see,” he told him. Penguin pouted.

“Just one kiss?”

He knew it was bad behavior, but he just couldn’t stop himself in this sleep-deprived mind. He could feel the heat of his body so close to his, Law’s tired eyes pinning him. Did he also not sleep this night?

Law sighed.

“Okay, but only one.”

Penguin beamed at him. He had never been allowed to do that and wasted no time to lean forward, catching his mouth with his own. Law’s breath hitched, as it nearly always did, and he closed his eyes as he pressed against Penguin’s broader form, keeping his hands at his sides. He opened his mouth and Penguin took his chance to lick into it, deepening the kiss as Law pulled him closer. He stepped between his legs and put his arms around his shoulders, sliding his tongue against Law’s own before he retreated just an inch to suck his bottom lip between his teeth. Law shuddered and clenched his hands into his jumpsuit. As Penguin released his lip, his tongue darted forward and daringly slipped into Penguin’s mouth, gliding over the row of his teeth.

He was a fast learner, curious, a mixture of shyness and boldness, and he put his newly acquired knowledge into practice by sliding his tongue against Penguin’s before interrupting the kiss for the split of a second to try a different angle while Penguin chased his mouth with his own. The air grew hot between them and Penguin shoved the tips of his fingers underneath his shirt to stroke the spot on his shoulder he knew he liked.

By now Law was breathing harshly and Penguin could feel a distinct hardness pressing against his leg. It took a good deal of his willpower to pull back, leaving Law hot faced and with a wrinkled shirt. Law averted his eyes and ran his hands through his hair to try to get some of his composure back. Penguin cleared his throat.

“Coffee?”

Law nodded and adjusted himself discreetly.

Penguin sat down and nipped at his coffee. He had expected Law to take the coffee pot and vanish into his quarters, but to his surprise he only hesitated shortly before he settled next to him, grasping his mug with both hands.

An awkward silence ensued. Penguin busied himself by taking tiny sips of his coffee, but it was still a bit too much on the hot side. How could Law drink that stuff yet? His had to be even hotter without any milk in it and he already had downed half of it like it was nothing.

“Did you – did you find anything out?” he finally asked. They hadn’t done much talking the last few days, therefore it sounded terribly like he was trying to make small-talk.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I mean about those ruins. The city. Were the books I received for you any good?”

Law nodded slowly, already deep in thought.

“I think so. Robin and I have begun to translate the first one. It is a description of a landscape. I’m not entirely sure yet, but I think it’s from around here. From the bottom of the ocean. There even are some rudimentary maps drawn on a few pages – I have ordered Bepo to scan our surroundings with the radar and compare his findings with the maps. Then we will see if I was right.”

He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t care either way.

“How long do you plan on staying here, anyway?” Penguin asked. “Don’t you want to get to Kaido as fast as possible?”

“Not really, no. I don’t want to linger for more than necessary though,” he added, “but something about this city … seems off to me. Kaido can wait a few days longer.”

Penguin had the same feeling about this city since he first had laid his eyes on it, but for even his captain to go so far – there truly had to be something more behind it.

“What do you think has happened there?” he asked while Law gulped down his coffee.

“I don’t really know. There’s been a terrible disease and I have a gut feeling that is wasn’t a coincidence.” He raked one of his hands through his hair, his mouth set into a grim line. “It shouldn’t be this important to me anyway, but for some reason it is.”

Penguin wanted to touch him badly and did so in the next moment, just resting his hand on the back of his neck and stroking his hairline. He only knew some parts of what had happened to Law as a child: he had been the sole survivor of a wiped out city, suffering from a disease meant to kill him as it had killed the entire population of his home city. He was born in North Blue, but he didn’t know the exact location or how he was cured from that disease. Law hadn’t ever spoken about it and he had never pried. But this was also the reason he didn’t know any words to comfort him now.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approach the kitchen and he hastily withdrew his hand. A few seconds later Shachi turned around the corner and halted as he saw the two of them sitting next to each other.

Law send him a wary look and stood up.

“I’ll be in my quarters, reading,” he announced and Penguin could hear the faint waver in his voice. He took the whole pot of coffee with him, leaving Shachi and him alone.

Shachi stared at the spot at the table which had been occupied only a few moments before. His eyes slid to Penguin, who still cradled his mug between his hands. Now it was barely cooled enough to drink. Shachi stepped past him and opened the refrigerator in search of something to eat.

“Did you have a bad night?” Penguin asked his back. “I noticed you tossing yourself around.”

Shachi closed the door, the milk carton in hand, and opened one of the cupboards to get the cereal out.

“No … I mean, yeah. I felt … cold.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? I could have given you my blanket-”

“I’m really not in the mood to talk right now, okay?” Shachi said tensely. He had his back to him as he poured the cereal into a bowl. Penguin stared at him.

“Whats wrong?” Okay, he had a good hunch about what was wrong, but there really was no reason for Shachi to be this prickly with him. This wasn’t like him at all.

“Nothing.” Shachi began to cram the cereal into his mouth, still standing at the counter.

“Don’t say it’s nothing, if there clearly is something bothering you! There is something you aren’t telling me and I want to know what! Is it because we’re not sleeping together anymore?”

“What do you expect?” Shachi said through the cereal in his mouth. “A guy’s got needs and I’m simply not accustomed to sleeping alone anymore. But I’ll manage.”

“But why didn’t you say anything?” Penguin wanted to stand up and was already half out of his chair, but something in the tense posture of Shachi’s shoulders held him back. Why didn’t he turn around? He had only looked at him once since he had entered the kitchen and when he recalled the last days there weren’t many moments they had talked to each other. “We can still cuddle, if you want. I’m sure Law would understand.”

“Don’t put any words into his mouth which I’m sure he will reject the second he hears of this,” Shachi said, still not looking at him. “You want that thing with him, don’t ya? So don’t risk it by making these empty promises.” He shakily drew breath. “I’m sorry I kissed you. That was way out of line.”

Wasn’t it the same thing Penguin had done to Law? Why did Shachi apologize for something he had done unless he hadn’t planned on doing it? There was something he didn’t get and he had the dreadful feeling that he had to understand it fast or else-

“ _Why_ did you kiss me?” he asked, eyes on the spot between Shachi’s shoulder blades as he waited for an answer. But Shachi didn’t respond and instead raised the entire bowl to his mouth, quickly draining its contents. Then he turned around.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, rubbing the milk off his mouth with the back of his hand. “There’s no sense talkin’ about it, so I won’t. I just need a liltle bit of time.”

 _Time for what?_ , Penguin thought, but Shachi had already rushed past him.

He hurriedly finished his breakfast (only coffee as he didn’t feel hungry anymore) and immediately made his way to his quarters. He knew that Shachi had no duty at the moment, as he did, too, and there was a high probability that he would be in their rooms. After all, there wasn’t much to do if they weren’t on the surface and he didn’t think that Shachi would be in the mood to hang out in the small and cramped common room.

He went past the captain’s quarters without acknowledging it the first time in a week. He hesitated as he arrived at his destination after a few minutes – should he knock? It was his room, too, after all, but he knew that Shachi didn’t want to see him at the moment. But they had to talk about it. He didn’t believe for one second longer that Shachi simply had problems with him because he didn’t get laid anymore. There had to be something else.

He finally decided to knock only once, his knuckles hitting the steel door sharply, before he entered. The room was dark and he let his gaze roam over the two beds, the sheets still crumpled from sleep. Maybe he was in the bathroom. He didn’t bother to turn on the lights and instead made his way through the room and to the small bathroom which was connected to theirs in the corner.

Shachi was nowhere to be found.

He sat on Shachi’s bed, his hands folded on his lap, and lowered his head. Shachi was really upset. For some reason he thought he couldn’t talk to him anymore and the easy friendship they had had seemed a mile away. He blinked at his pillow. He had lain here all night, probably thinking about his problem, and not getting any sleep. He just wanted to pull him into an embrace and pet him until he calmed like he had done so many times to him.

He missed him. He loved Law, but he still missed Shachi. How was this possible? Maybe it was as simple as missing something which you had grown accustomed to – there was no way to count the countless times the two of them had lain in this very bed, limbs entangled and skin sweaty. He especially had liked to kiss him. Shachi had been really talented at it and had exactly known which buttons to press to make him a quivering mess.

God, the mere thought was arousing. He could feel himself getting uncomfortable, his dick twitching, and sent a look at the closed door. Maybe he should wait for him to get back so that they could talk.

He looked at the pillow again and then let himself fall down onto it, pulling his legs up to his body. The pillow still smelt of Shachi and his familiar scent of salt and he _ached_. He didn’t notice that he had half turned his body and had began to rub himself against the mattress before it was too late: The friction against his crotch felt too good to stop and he muffled his face into the pillow as he began to hump the mattress. Shachi’s scent enveloped him and he bit his lip as not to cry out. He had to finish this soon. What would he do if someone found him like this?

He was fully hard now and the mattress simply wasn’t enough, so he sneaked one hand beneath his stomach and unzipped his jumpsuit before he shoved his hand down into his underwear, gripping himself a tad too harshly. He was already dripping and he smeared the drop of precum around his head, easing the stroking motions a bit. Shachi had known that he liked to touch him there, a few millimeters under the slit as he mostly was too sensitive to endure it long, and he had often driven him halfway to insanity until he had let him come with a few well practiced movements of his hand which he tried to mimic now.

But it wasn’t the same. The release was within his reach, but he couldn’t get the last amount of pleasure he sought as he desperately pumped into his hand, fingers flicking over the slit every so often until it hurt. He tried to picture Shachi doing this to him and it felt horribly wrong. Tears pricked his eyes – what would Shachi think if he found him here? Or even worse, what would Law do to him?

Suddenly, the picture in his mind morphed and it was his Law who held him, who pressed up lying underneath him, and he licked his lips, trying to imagine it was Law’s tongue licking him in this uncertain way of his, his warmth pressing against his stomach. But suddenly the two images were merging and he gasped as his mind came up with the picture of both of them, Law beneath him as they kissed, and Shachi’s hand down his pants, and he pumped nearly desperately into his hand and came trembling.

For the next few minutes he just tried to get a hold of his breath. Then the shame set in.

Law would kill him if he’d ever find out what he had pictured. And Shachi would surely be hurt beyond imagination. God, what was he, a pervert or something?

He pulled his hand out of his pants, trying not to pay attention to the jizz sticking to it. He stood up, his legs wobbly, and made his way to the bathroom where he washed his hands and the mess he had made inside his clothing. Then he met his reflection in the mirror.

Shachi and him still had to talk and he vowed to himself to set things right. The first step to that was never to repeat what he had done in here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm curious what you think, so feel free to leave me a comment :)


	8. Chapter 8

Having finished his duties Penguin arrived at the captain’s quarters just half an hour earlier than he had expected. He knocked once, then twice and waited patiently until the door opened to reveal a tired looking Law.

“You’re early,” he remarked. “Don’t you still have something to do on the ship?”

As Penguin shook his head he opened the door wider and let him step through. Several books were lying open on his desk, notes sticking out from between the pages, as well as on the floor. He carefully stepped around them, not wanting to disturb the organized chaos, and came to a halt as he noticed that there was no place free to sit down except for the chair Law now occupied again.

“You can sit on the bed, if you like,” Law said, eyes glued on one of the pages as he vigorously took notes. “I’m ready in a few minutes.”

 _Ready for what?_ , Penguin thought, trying to get comfortable on the bed. He didn’t dare to lie down on it, so he just sat awkwardly on the edge, his hands folded in his lap as he observed the other’s back. They hadn’t done much except kissing and touching since that first day. He had brought him off one time after that, but that was all. Surely it would send the wrong signals if he laid down on the mattress now as if he expected something more so soon.

He didn’t know what Law’s deal was, really. He never rejected him when he kissed him now and he even met his kisses with fervor, but he never was the one who initiated them. What was the reason they were doing this? What got Law out of it? He knew that he wasn’t in it simply for the sex, because that made no sense at all for someone as Law.

He shuffled a bit further onto the bed.

“You seem tense,” he remarked unhelpfully.

“I just can’t make sense of these!” Law hissed and raked a hand through his hair. Penguin blinked at him, surprised. He had thought that he’d made progress. “Why didn’t they call for help? Why?”

“Who?”

“The citizens! They seem to have been a great civilization, they prided themselves in their knowledge, they were progressive in their medicine, but yet they failed to send for help? It’s not even mentioned in any of those texts!” He huffed. “Even if they did sent for help and no one had arrived it should at least be mentioned. But to me it just seems as if they haven’t even tried.”

Penguin pondered the question for a while, while Law scribbled furious onto his paper.

“Maybe they didn’t because they knew nobody would come.”

The scratching of Law’s pen stopped immediately and he turned around, mouth pressed into a thin line.

“That is a horrible thing to say, Pen.” He seemed to look in his direction, but his eyes stared straight through him and Penguin stood up and hurried over. The motion snapped Law out of his stupor and he grabbed his arm. “You know, in my experience, even if you are fairly sure that nobody will help, you still try to call out to – to somebody.”

Penguin knew enough about what had happened to him all those years ago that he recognized the haunted expression on his face as a mixture of pity and a sense of déjà vu.

“But why?” he tried to make sense. “If they really thought that, what was the reason?”

Law’s grip on his arm tightened.

“Do you think there always has to be a reason?”

Penguin shook his head.

“Not a good one, no. But I think there has to be a reason, even if it’s a bad one, for someone, somewhere.”

If it was the Marine who had wiped out Law’s home town, what good reason could there be? For the citizens of this nameless town it may have been long expected, maybe they had done something horrible, or maybe only a few of them had and the majority of the population had to suffer because of them. But maybe the world was even darker than that and it wasn’t the citizen’s fault at all, even less the children’s, and they all died for nothing.

“What reason could there be for something like that?” There was hesitance in his voice like he didn’t know if he was asking because of the ruins lying beneath the Polar Tang or because of the other town, eradicated so long ago.

As Law opened his mouth he wasn’t sure which question he answered.

“To conceal a secret.”

He didn’t know what to answer then and so he kept his mouth shut, watching Law continue to work silently after a few minutes.

“You know, there’s something that has been bothering me for a while now,” Penguin said after a while. “I’m wondering how it’s possible that the city lies so deep down beneath the sea level. I mean, if it was a natural shifting of the tectonic plates it would take much longer, wouldn’t it? And I don’t think it has been because of an earthquake or a landslide, because one this big would have destroyed the city even more. If you think about it, there isn’t much damage to the city. Sure, the roofs are caved in, but all of the houses’ walls are still standing. Hell, even this arched entrance does!”

Suddenly, he noticed that Law’s eyes had gone wide.

“What? What did I-” he began, but Law yanked him closer and pecked him on the lips.

“Pen, I think I know why they didn’t call for help.” Penguin waited for him to continue, hands folded on his lap. “I think the city has never been above the sea level, but has always been here, at this depth.”

Something in Penguin clicked and he stared open-mouthed at his captain.

“But that means-”

“Yes. The citizens were _fishmen_.”

As he said it, Law looked angry for some reason and it took Penguin a few seconds to deduct why.

“You mean – you mean they didn’t call for help because they knew nobody would help a fishman?”

He didn’t want it to be true. Sure, there still was a lot of discrimination going on nowadays, but he had assumed that it hadn’t been this way for so long. Law didn’t say anything, but he had craned his head to look at the open books, obviously lost in thought.

There was no way for him to accept something horrible like that. Surely there would have been even a handful of people who would have been willing to help the dying city. Surely they would have tried. Otherwise, how hopeless could an entire city become?

“They should have called for help,” Penguin said, anguish curling in his stomach even if this tragedy took place so long ago. “I’m sure there would have been someone who’d have tried to help them.”

“Don’t put the blame on the citizens,” Law said sharply and directed a glare at him. “You underestimate the situation they were in. Some people are just so hated – or feared – that they don’t stand a chance when something like this happens. Sometimes no help arrives even if you call for it.”

His mouth was pressed into a thin line and his hands pushed against his thighs and Penguin stood up, hurried over to kneel before him, but no words came to his mind. He laid one hand on Law’s knee, intertwining it with Law’s own and Law gripped it back, nearly painful. They stayed like that. Not moving, until Penguin’s knees hurts from the hard floor, but he refused to stand up.

He still had to, after a while, when Law claimed he was tired, and hesitantly made his way to his cold room.

 

“It makes sense,” Robin said.

They sat in the kitchen, together with a few crew members who were awake early for morning duty, including Bepo, who still was working on a map for their surroundings, Shachi and Penguin as well as three other Heart Pirates. Strangely, even the silent swordsman of the Straw Hats was present, but Penguin suspected that he only was here for the food. He had made breakfast for the small group and sat down only after he had placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of his captain. He settled down next to Shachi and tried to ignore the feeling of unease he emitted these days.

“Discrimination against fishmen is unfortunately as old as the World Government,” Robin continued and nipped at her coffee. “It wouldn’t be a wild guess that they haven’t reached out for somebody because of that. It also explains that the books we found in the library are as well preserved as they are. The fishmen have several varnishes to preserve the paper even in saltwater. My apologies – I had noticed that the paper felt off, but I had not given it enough thought.”

Law drank his coffee in big gulps (Penguin still wanted to know how he did that, watching his throat work) before he answered.

“But it’s still a theory. I would like to get a look at the city myself now,” his captain said, putting the mug down maybe a bit harder than was necessary. There were many things you could say about Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart Pirates, as he sometimes had a certain streak of cruelty or ruthlessness, but there was also his vast intellect and Penguin tried not to stare too much at him, excitement and butterflies mixing in his stomach. Law looked at him. “Pen, you’ll come with me.”

Penguin tried to keep the grin off his face – alone in the shuttle with his new-found lover? He knew that Law wouldn’t allow something like that while they were on the mission, but the thought was still thrilling. Next to him, Shachi shifted on his seat and as he glanced at him from the corner of his eye he could see the tight press of his lips, his eyes shadowed from the hat he constantly wore. He quickly looked elsewhere, not so much because he feared to be caught, but because he could feel Shachi’s expression as a pang in his heart.

They set off an hour later.

Penguin was more nervous than the last two times he went down there, even if Law was silent as a statue behind him and didn’t chatter in his ear as Connor had done. He was fairly familiar with the handling of the shuttle and trusted in his abilities as an operator of it, but Law’s staring made him agitated. But logically he knew that Law only stared past his head to look at the glass front in front of him, even if there was nothing to see yet.

“Are you scared sometimes?” Penguin asked him finally, only to interrupt the uncomfortable silence. “I mean, because of the depth.”

“No,” Law’s voice droned in his ear, loud in between the beeping noises of the radar. “There is only a small chance that something could happen to us here. It’s certainly much safer than the surface.”

The answer wasn’t surprising. His captain had weighty reasons to ride with a submarine, which were the same reasons most sailors wouldn’t prefer a submarine over a ship. Even if Law could hold his own against most pirates up there, there still had to be something – someone – he didn’t want to meet. What better way was there except hiding where only fishmen and sunken ships could venture?

“So, where do you want to go first?” he asked as the lights touch the first pillars. Little particles of organic matter floated by. Law leaned forward and Penguin tried not to hold his breath while he could feel the warmth radiating from the other’s skin.

“First take me around the city.”

“Around?” he asked again.

“I want to have an overview of the city first.”

Penguin nodded and steered the shuttle to the left. He kept close to the outside walls of the city as he didn’t want to lose track of it in the darkness. There was not much to see – the walls were mostly intact, only a few bricks broken, but otherwise in nearly perfect condition and Penguin thought to himself that if there was still something lacking in his belief that Law was right, that these ruins belonged to fishmen once, his doubts would be eradicated now.

The city itself was not huge, the houses mostly tightly packed against each other, but it wasn’t a village either. A perfectly normal middle-sized town, once full of life, men, women, children, a library, maybe a market and a tailor. All things you could find easily above the surface where the bigger part of the world’s population dwelled.

Only that these people had been fishmen.

Had this been their downfall?

“What is that?” Law had grabbed the backrest of his seat, now cheek to cheek with him and Penguin followed his gaze. At first he saw nothing unusual – only darkness, the particles floating through the lights like dust – and then he pivoted the lights slightly away from the city and held his breath as suddenly a gaping rift came upon them, seemingly even blacker than it’s surroundings and Penguin’s heart began to beat in his chest.

“A deep sea trench,” he answered Law’s question. He carefully steered the shuttle nearer until it hovered just over the edge, and tilted it forwards so he could cast the lights on it. The lights glided over the cliff on the other side and then vanished. “I can’t see how deep it is.”

“It’s dangerously near the city,” Law remarked, his voice brimming in his ear. “If there ever was a bigger earthquake than the last one it could sink into it.”

“Well, nobody lives here anymore, so ...” Penguin didn’t finish his sentence and instead steered the shuttle towards the city’s wall again. He was glad that they left the trench behind them. One kilometer beneath the sea level was really deep enough for him, he didn’t need to stare into the abyss to get an inkling of what helplessness felt like.

After a few more minutes they had encircled the entire city and Penguin carefully steered them over the wall and the first row of houses. Law was silent behind him, but the hand with which he held the backseat was clenched tight and as he glanced down to it he could see the white of his knuckles.

He hesitated, but ultimately he couldn’t help but ask: “Are you okay?”

Law didn’t even look at him as he answered.

“All those people,” he murmured and then fell into silence again.

Penguin’s hands grew cold on the steering wheel. He wanted to hold Law in his arms so badly, but there was simply no room to do so. Therefore he only loosened one hand from the steering wheel and carefully reached behind him to lay it on Law’s own, the back of his hand nearly as cold as the interior of the shuttle. Law was brimming with something, barely holding still, and he wasn’t sure if it was anger or something else mixed into it.

“We should return.” As he said it he realized that it was the first time he was the one who wanted to return early. The display read another forty minutes left, but Law didn’t know that and nodded.

The drive back was a silent one, but at the same time Penguin felt as if his ears were stuffed with words and memories which weren’t his own and he nearly slammed the hatch from its hinges in his haste to get out of the shuttle. Law followed a bit more dignified, but the moment his feet touched the wet floor of the hangar he turned and went for the door, leaving Penguin behind.

Penguin followed. He didn’t know nearly enough to _help_ him, but he wanted to nonetheless. They arrived at the captain’s quarters a few minutes later. Law left the door open as he stormed through and Penguin took it as an invitation to follow him, closing the door behind him as Law kicked the side of his bed one time and let himself fall on it.

A moment passed in which Penguin still stood awkwardly on the other side of the room, unsure what to do.

“So,” he fiddled with his thumbs, “is it okay if I keep you company?”

Law continued to stare at the low ceiling as he answered.

“You’re already here, so I guess it’s okay.”

As he hadn’t been thrown out immediately, Penguin hesitantly crossed the distance to the bed and sat down on its edge, turning his body halfway to look at him. He wasn’t sure what to say. Obviously there was something bothering Law and he guessed it had something to do with the ruins and all those people who had died back then – but that had been centuries ago and while it upset him a bit, too, he didn’t understand why Law’s hands were clenching the bed sheets he was lying on.

He thought of several ways to start a sentence before he finally settled on one.

“Why is this so important to you?”

Law’s fist hit the wall and he flinched.

“They always do that!” he growled and then fell into silence again.

“I don’t understand.” Penguin said meekly. Law glared at the wall. He swallowed before he talked again.

“You don’t have to. It just makes me angry, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Penguin shuffled closer and laid one hand on his arm to squeeze it lightly.

“You think that the World Government has something to do with it, don’t you?” He watched as Law tensed beneath his fingers before he rolled around, facing the wall and away from Penguin.

“It all adds up, doesn’t it?” he hissed, his voice thick with some emotion Penguin didn’t dare to identify. “It’s just their way of handling things. Flevance, Ohara, it doesn’t matter to them. It’s a fucking easy way to get rid of your problems, isn’t it? What’s a few lives if the spotless image of the Government remains as it is!”

Fuck, if this was going in the direction he thought it was, Law had to be seriously hurting. He reached out again, but as his hand made contact with Law’s shoulder he shook him off. But he wouldn’t let something like that hinder him and flopped fully on the bed, shuffling until he pressed against his back, his feet intertwining with the other’s legs.

His heart hammered in his chest, his hand still hovered over Law’s shoulder, unsure if he should touch him even if the rest of his body was flush against his. Law exhaled slowly, a miniature portion of tension escaping him.

“I don’t understand half of it,” Penguin mumbled against his neck, warm breath hitting his skin, “but I want to be part of your life. You don’t have to tell me anything, but I want you to know that you _can_. That is, if you want to. Or I can just hold you.” He was aware of how incredibly sappy he sounded, but he didn’t care. Even if they had shared kisses and small gentle touches over the last few days he didn’t feel any closer to him. There seemed to be a barrier between them, only cracking in the short moment after he had found his release twice with him, but it had never fallen completely.

For a long moment, Law didn’t say anything. His breathing had been irregular for a few minutes now, his shoulders pulled up – and suddenly he knew that he was crying and the realization shattered something fundamental in him. Why, just why? He didn’t understand. He wanted to understand.

There was something bugging him in the back of his mind. Finally, he touched his shoulder again, stroked his fingers along his arm and hugged him tight.

“As I said – you don’t have to, but – please, would you tell me about your home city?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many emotions :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter- let me know what you think ^-^


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has to be one of my favorites. I'd be glad if you'd tell me what you thought about it :D

As he came to he was sticky with sweat and a mop of thick black hair tickled his nose. He wrinkled his nose and rubbed it, slowly blinking to accustom himself to the faint light from a lamp somewhere in the room. There was someone in his arms. He tensed slightly as he realized the events of last night – albeit reluctant, Law had finally disclosed more about the city he came from. The memory of him lying in his arms, trembling while he recounted the events which had led him to become a pirate and despise the World Government, sent chills down his spine.

Now, Law was lying on his other side, no longer turned away from him. He had his head tucked underneath Penguin’s chin and one arm slung around his waist. Penguin tried to breath more shallow because he was sure there was no way Law would remain where he was when he woke. He wanted to savour that moment to the last second.

No wonder it was so warm. Law was a furnace, easily radiating heat to transform the space between the mattress and the blanket into an oven. He quietly observed the way his chest rose and fell, his breath tickling the few hairs on his chest which were peeking out of his t-shirt. He could barely believe that he actually spent the night with him! Even if they hadn’t done anything except cuddle and talk (and maybe he had stolen a single kiss shortly before Law had fallen asleep) he felt so happy he had to struggle to hold still. He couldn’t suppress the urge to stroke one finger over Law’s side though, caressing from his shoulder down to his hips and finally settled his hand in the small of his back. He was so handsome. His dark skin was littered with silvery scars which sometimes crossed the lines of his elaborate tattoos, his legs were so long and the best part of it was that they were currently trapped between his own ones.

Law drew a deep breath and moved suddenly, slowly entangling himself from his embrace and sitting halfway up. He cradled his head in one hand and groaned. Penguin nearly forgot to breath, high-strung as he was, but Law had to have noticed him.

“Penguin …?” he asked, his voice still raw from sleep, and slowly turned to look at him. Penguin smiled at him, feeling unsure.

“Um – hi.”

Law pressed two fingers against his forehead and let himself fall back down. The mattress wiggled under his weight.

“Aren’t you feeling well?” Penguin asked. Law turned around to face him, one arm tucked beneath his head.

“I need coffee,” he grumbled, but didn’t make a move to stand up. Penguin carefully shuffled nearer and wrapped an arm around him. Law let him, even as he curled his hand into the hem of his shirt.

“I’ll get you one in a few minutes,” he promised. It was still so surreal for him to wake up next to his captain. They hadn’t done things like that yet – they had kissed, they had made out, Penguin had blown him and fantasized about him. This, this was new. “Didn’t you sleep well?”

“I never do.” He laid his forehead against Penguin’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “But it wasn’t worse than usual.”

It wasn’t exactly a love declaration, but the corners of Penguin’s mouth still went up and he pulled him tighter against him, nuzzling the top of his hair until Law began to struggle.

“Hey, not so much, okay?” he grumbled. “I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry. I’m just – I’m just so happy.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Oh god, this was just too much. He wanted to hold him tight again, but he knew it wouldn’t be appreciated and managed to hold himself back, settling for kissing the top of his head. He wished it could be like this forever, but he had to get up soon to get Law his coffee and, well, to take a piss.

And Law still wanted to leave the crew in a few weeks, he remembered with a drop in his stomach, unconsciously holding him tighter.

“Hey, what did I just say?” Law grumbled and pressed the heels of his hands against his chest. Penguin bit his lip and turned them around until he was lying half on top of him, burying his face in the crook of Law’s neck, his lips pressed against his pulse point.

“Could you tell me one more thing?” he asked against his neck, a faint tremble rushing through his body. “Why do you want to go? If you’re – if you’re really happy here, with me, why do you still want to go?”

There was a sigh, and suddenly both of Law’s arms enveloped him in a loose embrace.

“This has nothing to do with you, I promise,” he mumbled into his hair. Penguin stiffened.

“That’s not fair.” His chest ached, but now that he had begun this conversation he wanted to see it through. “It doesn’t matter which way you see it, but if you go and leave me behind, it has something to do with me!”

He couldn’t see Law’s face as it was, somewhere above his own head, and he was a master at disguising his own voice. For all that, he still knew something was off.

“Don’t make this so hard, please,” Law rumbled into his hair, warm breath drifting over it.

“I just want to understand.” His eyes were wet and he struggled to hold it in, both because he hated to cry and let his emotions get the better of him and because he didn’t want Law to get frustrated with him. Law settled his chin on top of his head.

“You know,” he began, “I’ve never expected to still be here. And now that I do, I have still one thing to do and that is defeating Kaido. I don’t know if it’s even possible with us, but with all that has happened in the last few weeks with Doflamingo and the Straw Hats … I’m willing to give it a chance.”

Penguin held himself perfectly still, breathing against his neck and soaking in his warmth.

“But even if we accomplish that – what am I to do then? I think with what I’ve told you last night you know by now that I’m not a pirate because I follow this goal of becoming the Pirate King. Something like that doesn’t matter to me – fame, or wealth. I don’t care about that.”

“But there has to be something you care about, don’t you think?”

Law chuckled.

“Has there? I’m not sure. I wanted to be a doctor once, like my parents, but that dream has long since been buried.”

Penguin kissed the salt off his skin, trying to count the heartbeats beneath it. Law seemed to be calm, as slow as they were.

“You can still be a doctor,” he urged him on. Law snorted.

“With a reputation like mine? There’s no way for me to just settle down somewhere and hope to lead a peaceful life.”

“But if that’s not your plan, what will you do instead?”

Law shrugged his shoulders and the motion rattled through him, reminding him of sharp collarbones.

“Who knows. I certainly don’t.”

Penguin sensed that he didn’t want to talk about it any further. It really seemed hopeless if you saw it from that perspective. Again, he pressed a kiss on his neck and felt him shudder and nipped him a few times more just to feel Law get flustered and twitchy beneath him. Maybe he could-

“Pen,” Law grumbled. “Didn’t you want to get me coffee?”

Penguin lifted his head and grinned at him, a bit more than how he felt like. 

“Very well then, I’ll go,” he said and pushed himself in an upright position, not without giving him a good once-over look. Law’s cheeks were slightly red and his entire appearance ruffled and dozily, but the look in his eyes could kill. Therefore he moved from the bed, hastily put his shoes and his hat on, and left the room to get him his morning elixir.

It still had to be early, even if he had no actual idea which time it was – the hallways were deserted as he walked through them.

There were only a few weeks left after which they’d either die or Law would leave the crew. Neither outcome was something he cared for much. If he hadn’t a plan after leaving the crew, why go at all? He could still cruise the oceans with them, they didn’t have to be pirates. But they would be outlaws for sure, every marine knew his face and several others of the crew as well. He was right: Once you took this path there was no way to go back.

There was nobody in the kitchen either and he prepared a whole pot of coffee to take back with him. He was certain Law would appreciate that. Maybe he would let him stay in his quarters while he worked through the books, at least until the Straw Hat woman arrived. Maybe he could kiss him once more when he was back (no, he’d definitively kiss him then). The thought brought a smile on his face and he hummed as he made his way back to his lover’s quarters.

But as he went around the corner he stopped in his tracks – Shachi stood directly in front of him, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights and seemingly as surprised as him to see him here.

Penguin cleared his throat.

“Good morning,” he said carefully. He hoped Shachi was in a better mood this morning. Either way he couldn’t let this opportunity slip away to finally talk to him. Shachi eyed the pot of coffee he held in his hands.

“Morning.” It was gruff, but it was something. Penguin let his hope flare up. “What are you doing with that? Did you actually spend the night in the kitchen?”

Of course he knew that he hadn’t touched his own bed the whole night, but Penguin couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at his mouth as he thought about last night.

“Actually … no,” he said, feeling the warmth from the pot seeping into his fingers. “I’ve spent the night with Law.”

Shachi’s eyes grew big and then, without a warning, tears welled up in them, his mouth parted and he _sobbed_.

Penguin startled, first taking a step back, and then rushed to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded while he shook him, but it was like a dam had been broken in his best friend and he only sobbed harder, shoulders hitching as he gasped for breath in big, shuddering gulps. Penguin had never seen him like that. In the past he had been the only one to cry or need a shoulder to lean on while Shachi had been unmoved even as their captain had left them for months without calling or notifying any of them. He wasn’t sure if he had seen him cry even once in his life and he turned his head to call in his ear, “Please talk to me, Shachi! Whatever it is, I’m sure we can work it out!”

Shachi didn’t speak at first, but he hugged him tight, his hands clenched into his loose shirt, and pressed his face against his chest. He could feel his shirt get wet, but that didn’t matter at all. There was something seriously wrong with his best friend, confusion and hurt mixed in his stomach until it hurt to breathe and he just hugged him back, hoping that maybe this would be enough and they could go back to where they had once been.

Shachi tried to speak, but no words left his mouth as he just breathed harshly against him, each pull of breath accompanied by hiccuping sobs.

“I’m sorry,” Penguin whispered into his hair, even if he didn’t know why, “I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t-” Shachi began, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat and he was trembling like a leaf.

Whatever it was, he would get his answers now, one way or another – Shachi only needed time, didn’t he? He pressed his nose into the reddish mop of hair and held him harder against himself, nearly smothering him. The pot of coffee was lying forgotten on the floor.

Shachi harshly sucked air through his nose. He lifted his head just a bit.

“I missed you,” he croaked, voice raspy from crying. And then, another series of sobs ripped through him.

“I missed you, too,” Penguin murmured and then said, because he thought he had to reassure himself after the last few days, “Please, can we be friends again?”

Shachi stiffened. He put both of his hands against his collarbone and gently pushed him away from him. He looked horrible, his face blotched and eyes rimmed red, but he managed to hold his gaze.

“It wasn’t,” he began anew, holding himself completely still, “it wasn’t only sex for me.”

Penguin only stared at him. His stomach dropped as he blinked at him, the wet splotch on his shoulder slowly cooling. _Not only sex_ – then suddenly understanding dawned on him and he gasped for air, opened his mouth, no words coming out-

And Shachi moved forwards, not giving him time to think, pressed his heels against him and toppled him over, hard floor against his back and soft lips against his mouth, slightly off, but one hand was suddenly buried into his hair and pulled him into position, and Shachi’s tongue invaded him, salty and familiar. A low tinge of arousal flared in him, Shachi’s body hot and heavy on him and the pressure of one of his knees between his legs. He was barely thinking, acting only on instinct as he kissed back, harshly panting in his mouth as Shachi felt him up, his free hand never holding still, desperate little noises escaping him as if he tried to devour him, cheeks still tasting of tears-

He remembered it was wrong only as someone inhaled sharply.

He knocked Shachi off of him, dread already filling his stomach as his eyes caught on Law. He nearly stood over him, having just rounded the corner, his hair still sleep mussed under his trademark hat. Penguin scrambled to stand up, as did Shachi, and he thought, in a streak of hysteria, that they had to look guilty as hell.

Law just stared at them, his eyes flicking from Penguin to Shachi and back again, then at the discarded pot of coffee on the floor. As he caught his gaze again his eyes spoke murder.

“So this is were you have been,” he finally said, voice cool as ice. Penguin desperately wanted to say something (anything), but no words came out of his mouth and he didn’t dare to interrupt his captain as he continued to speak. “The middle of the hallway is a bit too open a place to pursue … your urges.” He spoke carefully. Like something would break if he spoke too loud, or without rolling each of his words around his tongue first, but it would have hurt less if he had screamed. Then he could have screamed back. Accused Shachi of kissing him, pleading himself to be innocent. Unwilling.

But that much was not true.

“So you had a thing going on with one of your crew mates this whole time?” Law carefully pronounced, not giving himself and their relationship away while he unleashed his anger onto him. “That’s no problem at all, you know. You don’t have to think about your reputation.”

He remembered how he'd lain on Shachi’s bed last midmorning, jerking himself off to the image of both of them and regretting it instantly. Shachi looked at their captain, his face contorted between anger and hurt, both as red as his hair as he stepped forward and between them. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Law, but he stepped right into his space, one of his hands balled into a fist while the other jabbed at his chest.

“Don’t you dare!” he said, and he was still crying, “Don’t you dare to say such things to Pen, you fucking idiot! Don’t you know how much you mean to him?”

Law regarded him with a look that looked calmer on the surface as it probably was.

“I’m not speaking to you right know.”

Penguin grabbed Shachi’s jumpsuit at his neck and pulled him back, finally finding his voice again.

“Please, just – just go, while I-”

“You’re stupid if you think I’ll let you alone right now!”

Shachi held his ground, defiantly crossing his arms as he stepped up next to him, the two of them like a unified wall against their captain. Law pulled his hat lower into his face and then bent down to pick up the discarded coffee. His knuckles were white were they held it.

Penguin made a step forward and he flinched back before he could control his motions.

“I – I haven’t been honest to you,” he finally said. Law gritted his teeth.

“That much is obvious,” he scoffed, but that is not what Penguin meant. His mind was reeling, too many thoughts on the surface and he struggled to keep his words clear.

“No, that’s not it – I – I haven’t done anything since we-”

“I don’t care what you do in your free-time!” And there it was, Law wasn’t screaming yet, but he got louder, something in his voice he hadn’t hear before. Penguin’s throat tightened. This was all wrong, he felt so wrong, something not fitting right. “You can do what you want, I don’t-”

“I just can’t decide!”

It was out before he had any chance to keep the words in his mouth and it was only as they were out in the open as he finally understood what his problem was. He swallowed, catching saliva in his mouth, and spoke before he lost the guts to speak any further.

“I can’t decide,” he repeated. “I – I think I love you, Law.” It was the first time he said it out loud, but he wished it had been at a better time like this. “But the whole time I was with you, I also couldn’t stop thinking about Shachi. We – we had a thing, you know, before you and me. Nothing serious, or so I thought.” Law only stared at him, uncomprehending, like he had suddenly developed a second head. “But I missed him. And I don’t mean the sex only, but his hugs and his kisses and,” he noticed Shachi shifting beside him, “to be near him. So I can’t decide. If I’m with you, I’ll miss Shachi, but when I was with Shachi I really, _really_ wanted to be with you.”

This was so fucked up, he knew that. He saw it in Shachi’s shocked face and in the anger in Law’s, which was still not dissipating. But this was what he felt and he’d explode inside if he didn’t let it out right now.

There were a few moments of silence. Penguin counted his heartbeats.

“Well, it’s your lucky day.” Law smirked at him, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Because you don’t have to anymore. I’m done with you.”

He turned around and swiftly walked away.

He felt like exploding nonetheless. The morning he had woken up beside him felt far away.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Shachi reaching for him, but he stepped back before he could touch him and escaped as swiftly as possible.


	10. Chapter 10

He was so tired.

He was actually glad that he had duty this morning, first to clean the kitchen and then to do some much needed repairs on the ship. It kept his mind from wandering too far. But still, as midday rolled around, he felt exhausted, his mind somewhere at the bottom of a downward spiral where he couldn’t stop worrying about how he could mend things with Law.

He had fucked up. He had really, spectacularly, fucked up. There was no doubt in his mind that Law hated him now and the prospect of him leaving them behind soon would be all the more real. He hadn’t seen Shachi since this morning, either, having left him behind in the hallway. He’d just wanted to be alone at that moment, but now he regretted running away from him. His chest ached as if he were actually hurt and his eyes burned from the effort not to cry. He wouldn’t want to worry any of his crew mates. He tightened up a screw which had been a bit too loose, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Unfortunately they wouldn’t dive up for the next few days and he’d be stuck in the uncomfortable heat of the submarine, unable to escape anyone.

Maybe he should go and talk to Shachi. No, he _definitively_ had to talk to him. He had no other choice anyway, as they still shared a room and the only way to remedy that would be to talk to the captain which wasn’t a better option.

He leaned his forehead against the warm metal and closed his eyes for a second. He wanted to mend things with his best friend, but the thought of actually doing it scared him. He was absolutely sure that he would begin to cry before he even got one decent sentence out of his mouth and Shachi would think him idiotic. He didn’t want to hurt him any more than he already had. Why the fuck hadn’t he noticed sooner that he liked him like this? It had been so obvious in hindsight, but this never even had crossed his mind. Shachi was just – his best friend. Well, his fuck-buddy, too, at least for the last few years, but that had been an easy thing between the two of them. No strings attached.

And now he had hurt him.

God, he was such an idiot. How much had he hurt him with his relentless babbling about Law and how they had kissed? No wonder he’d broken down as he’d told him that they’d spent the night together. He probably thought they’d slept together.

He clenched the wrench in his hand. He should man up and finally talk to him. It was still Shachi. Still his best friend. He had to try and be the best person he was capable of. Maybe he should find him right now, as long as he was still fired up.

Stuffing the wrench into one of his jumpsuit's pockets he rushed through the hallway. Shachi had duty in the bottom part of the submarine. It was unlikely that he was alone, but he would just make up some excuse and pull him along. He passed a few of his crew mates who sent him confused looks as he hastened past them, but he didn’t care. He wanted to solve this problem now.

He clomped down the stairs to the bottom part of the submarine as somebody slammed his hand directly in front of him, effectively breaking off his way. He stared at Law, who just had been on his way to go up the stairs.

“Why are you running?” his captain asked, no hint of their earlier conflict traceable in his voice. Penguin fidgeted.

“I – um – I wanted to – check something-”

“Is it so urgent that you have to run like a lunatic down here?” Law cocked an eyebrow at him. “You could hurt someone if you’d run into them.”

Penguin suppressed the urge to duck his head under Law’s arm and run away. He felt cold.

“Yeah, um – you’re right. Sorry. I’ll go normally now.”

“I have something to discuss with you first.”

Fuck, he knew what this discussion would be about and he was so not ready for that. He held his hands in front of his body, hoping to dissuade him from his plans.

“There really is something I have to do first, but maybe I could come and see you this evening? You know, we could, um, talk about what happened and-”

“I said now.” Law narrowed his eyes, clearly pissed at him. “Whatever you wanted to do can wait.”

He had the crazy notion that Law knew exactly what he wanted to do, but there was no way he’d let him. He resigned himself to him fate and nodded. Finally, Law lowered his arm and passed him to walk up the stairs. Penguin followed him meekly. Fuck, he hadn’t had any time to think about what he would say to him. He hadn’t even have time to sort out his own thoughts. What did he want? Did he want to pursue a relationship with Shachi or with Law? His feelings were so confusing and he couldn’t decide which person he loved more. They were too different for that.

To soon they arrived at Law’s quarters and Penguin tried to keep calm as Law ushered him trough the door and closed it behind them. Only the day before Penguin had been so excited by the sound of the door clicking shut, now it felt like the snap of a noose around his neck.

“You’re probably wondering why I brought you here,” Law began. He went over to his desk were a mug of coffee stood. It was most likely that it was the one he had made for him this morning.

“Not really.” Penguin hovered by the door, hoping to escape sooner than later. “I mean … because of this morning. And I wanted to say – I’m really sorry!” There, that was as good a beginning as anything, wasn’t it? He didn’t expect Law to accept it, of course, but it would be better to show his good will.

“I don’t care about that.” Law didn’t look at him. He wished he was, because even if it was terrifying, at least he would get an inkling about what he thought. Now he could only look at his back and watch how he drank his coffee in big gulps. “I brought you here to inform you of your change in rank.”

Penguin halted.

“What? What about my rank? I thought you wanted to talk about-”

“Don’t interrupt me.” Law set his mug down, but still didn’t look at him. He continued, “You’ve betrayed my trust. As a captain, I can’t condone that kind of behavior. Therefore you leave me no other choice than to discharge you of your rank as second-in-command.”

Penguin was so shocked he couldn’t speak. He had expected anything from him – this icy coldness he had shown just this morning, or a screaming match, even that he’d use his powers against him to try and teach him a lesson. But this was just unfair.

His eyes stung.

“You won’t be allowed to use the shuttle anymore,” Law continued, tracing idle patterns on the desk, his back still turned to him, “or give commands to anyone. You have the same rank as someone who has just joined the crew now.”

Penguin’s chest ached, but he gritted his teeth and, with as much strength as he could muster, punched the door.

“Fuck you!”

Law didn’t even flinch. Penguin had left a dent in the door, but he didn’t care. Trembling, he crossed the distance between them, put a hand on his shoulder and yanked him around. To think he would go and try to solve the situation like this-

“You can’t punish me like that!” Tears were rolling down his cheeks now, as every time he was truly angry, but he didn’t care. He wanted to punch him so hard right now and only barely held back, his hands clenched into fists. “What’s wrong with you? Yeah, I made a mistake, but I didn’t want to hurt you, that’s why I – that’s why I didn’t tell you!”

“Keep your hands away from me.”

Law brushed his hand off, seemingly calm, but Penguin knew him better than that. If he could only break down his reserve, maybe he could still salvage this whole situation.

“You can’t make me!”

He grabbed him with both hands now, pushing against him until Law’s legs hit the desk behind him. The mug clattered to the floor, coffee spilling everywhere, as he pressed him down against the tabletop.

“Don’t-”

“No, you listen to me!” Fuck, he had forgotten that Law was really strong, even if he didn’t use his powers, and he struggled to keep him in place. “You can’t punish me with something like that because we had a fight!”

“Don’t downplay this, you little-”

“You’re abusing your powers!” Penguin spat, voice distorted by hiccups which wrecked his body. “I thought you’d be better than that!”

Law sneered.

“Well, I thought so of you, too.” Finally, he ceased to struggle. “You know, for once I thought I could have something good for myself. I should have known that this isn’t something for me though.”

And with that, the room suddenly disappeared around him. Penguin fell on the floor in the middle of the engineer’s room. He needed a second to understand that Law had shut him out again.

Hot tears were rolling down his cheeks, but he made no effort to wipe them away as he leaned the back of his head against one of the rumbling machines. Here, they had kissed. It had been the first time Law had actually reciprocated. His whole body shuddered as sobs ripped through him and he muffled the sounds with a fist. God, he'd nearly had hit him. He was still incredibly angry at him, but he would never forgive himself if he’d hurt him physically as well.

Why did it hurt so much? He bent over, head between his knees and tried to get his sobs under control. He heard someone enter, but didn’t raise his head.

A hand came down on his shoulder and he tensed. He didn’t want to explain to one of his crew mates why he was crying in the engineering room.

“Pen? Are you alright?” a soft voice asked.

God, it was Shachi. Trust his fate to fuck him even more up. Was he here to let him down, too?

“Do you wanna go to our room and talk? Or,” he shuffled closer, “we could just cuddle. If you still want to. I just want to be with you again.”

Penguin felt himself nod, but then he realized that Shachi would not be able to see it, and he carefully extracted his head from his knees and leaned to the left, where Shachi knelt beside him, burying his face into the scratchy fabric of his jumpsuit. Shachi’s arms came around him and he pulled him against his chest as he began to sob harder, getting snot and tears on his jumpsuit.

“Bepo told me that you were in the lower level a while ago … so I went to search for you.”

So that’s how he had found him. He let himself be pulled up and maneuvered through mostly empty hallways. One time they stopped as someone asked what was wrong with him, but Shachi waved him away by saying that he wasn’t feeling so well. At least that was not far from the truth.

Finally, they’d arrived at their shared room and Shachi closed the door one-handed, gently pushing him to his bed. He followed him, dipping the mattress with one knee, and Penguin continued to hold onto him until they were both settled against each other. Penguin buried his face against his chest again. He simply couldn’t look Shachi in the eye, not as puffy-eyed as he was now. Shachi closed his arms around him again, plucking his hat from his head, and tucked his chin on top of it.

Penguin clenched his hand into his jumpsuit, trying to suppress his sobs, but they tore trough him vehemently. He shuddered as Shachi’s hand found his neck and began to stroke it, playing with his hair.

“I’m sorry what I did this morning,” Shachi said after a while. “It was wrong and … it’s my fault that Law is angry with you now.”

Penguin shook his head, swallowing.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he choked out. There was so much more he wanted to say, but his throat felt tight and the words wouldn’t get out easily. Shachi held him tighter, a faint tremble going through his body. He heard him exhale shakily.

“I love you, you know.” Shachi pressed his nose against his forehead, holding him so tight he nearly couldn’t breathe. “I don’t know since when. But when you started this thing with Law … it fucking hurt so much. I should’ve told you sooner.”

“Me too.” Penguin’s voice was muffled against the jumpsuit, so he lifted his head a bit, so that he was able to speak properly. “I missed you so much, but I didn’t know what it meant.” He had only realized it as Shachi had kissed him this morning and it had felt so good, something clicking into place. And then Law had appeared and everything had broken apart. He pushed himself away with both hands against his chest. This was the hardest part. “But Shachi, I – I think I like you both.” Shachi only stared at him and he whispered, suddenly ashamed of himself, “I’m sorry, I know that is really greedy of me.”

“No need to apologize. You can’t choose who you love … or how many.” His lips pulled into a grin and Penguin got the inappropriate urge to kiss them, only barely holding back as his eyes flicked down to them. Shachi noticed, though, and raked a hand through Penguin’s black hair.

“May I …?

Penguin bit his lip, nodding minimally, and Shachi pecked his mouth, the most innocent thing he had done in days. A rush shot through his body and Penguin’s eyes fell shut for a second, allowing himself to just enjoy the moment, as Shachi kissed him again, sliding his mouth carefully against his own as if to reacquaintance himself.

“If it’s what makes you happy,” Shachi murmured against his lips as he stroked his hand through the hair on his nape, “I’d be fine with you having a relationship with _both_ of us.”

Penguin jolted.

“ _What_?”

“Isn’t that the obvious solution? You say that you love both of us, so don’t you want to be in a relationship with both of us, too?”

“Well, maybe, but-”

“No, buts.” Shachi regarded him with a steady look. “I mean it. I love you, Pen. I want you to be happy.”

“But-”

“Pen.” Shachi poked his chest with one finger.

“ _But_ Law – he won’t see it that way.”

“He will. I’m sure of it.” Shachi grinned. “He has that really smitten look on his face when he thinks nobody’s looking.”

Penguin’s face flushed.

“He … he does? Oh god.” That made him so incredibly happy and sad at the same time. “I don’t think he’ll accept something like that.”

“He will. In time.”

 _We don’t have much time anymore_ , Penguin thought desperately, _not when he still wants to leave after defeating Kaido_.

He pressed his face against Shachi’s chest again, soaking in the warmth his best friend provided.

 

They had to show themselves sooner or later. Penguin still had a few machines to repair and Shachi had cooking duty this evening. Therefore, after he’d washed his face to make himself more or less presentable again, he had put on his hat again and they both went separate ways.

Hours went by as he tinkered with several machines and pipes, repairing a few of them and making adjustments to a few others, cleaning excessive oil to ensure that they would run as smoothly as before. He was sweating profusely, as always while working on the submarine, but he was grateful for the hard work which gave him something other to concentrate on instead of his falling-out with Law and Shachi’s words.

He wiped the sweat off his skin with the back of his hand and caught his breath. He had done each routine check up that was due today and would finally be able to get out of his dirty clothes and catch up on some sleep after he had eaten something.

He pondered if he should show his dirty self in the kitchen before he went to the shower, as Bepo’s voice came through the speakers, announcing that the crew should gather in the common room. Well, obviously his plans had to be delayed. He stuffed his wrench and the dirty cloth with which he’d wiped some of the pipes in his back pocket and made his way up to the common room. It was the biggest room of the submarine, which, even if it still wasn’t very spacious, was the most fitting room to gather the whole crew into. He wondered what it was about and an uneasy feeling made his stomach squirm.

As he arrived at his destination a few minutes later, already most of the crew had gathered and he quickly found Shachi, who stood next to Bepo and Connor. They were whispering with each other, as did the rest of the crew. It was like walking into a bee-hive, buzzing voices filling the room, as he greeted Shachi and silently asked him if he knew what this was about.

He didn’t.

Finally, Law came into the common room and closed the door behind himself. There were around twenty people in the room, but the buzzing immediately fell silent as all of them set their eyes on their captain and waited for him to announce whatever he had to.

Suddenly, Penguin knew what this was about.

He suppressed the urge to grab Shachi’s hand.

“Thank you for coming here on such short notice.” His captain began. He stood in the middle of the room, in the midst of his crew, but there was a space of maybe two or three feet between him and them. “I wanted to inform you that I’ve decided that Bepo will be our new second-in-command from now on.”

It was down to the point, told with no emotion at all. Law didn’t look at him. Instead, he patted Bepo’s shoulder, who seemed confused, but blushed profusely at the sudden honor.

“But what about Penguin?” somebody suddenly asked.

“Penguin has been relieved of his duties until further notice,” Law declared and the stern look he sent the particular crew member who had dared to ask made it very clear that he wouldn’t answer any further questions. Immediately, the buzzing began anew, Bepo turned to him and opened his mouth to ask something.

Of course it shouldn’t be a surprise. Changes this big were always announced like this, but for Penguin it just felt like he was publically humiliated on purpose. He balled his hands into fists and stared at Law, drilling his eyes into the back of his head until he turned around and their eyes met. He felt tears sting in the corner of his eyes and his face must have been contorted in anger, but he didn’t care. The people around him looked curious at him and Shachi touched his arm and pulled him away.

He steered them out of the common room and into the hallways, his grip nearly painful. It was something to concentrate on, as hot tears spilled down his cheeks and his heart beat against his rib-cage, wanting to hit something, anyone, wanting to hit Law.

They hadn’t made it to his room as Penguin stopped in his tracks and hit the wall. Pain erupted in his hand, zinging up his arm.

“Pen, don’t.”

Shachi held him. He pressed his face into his shoulder.

There was another hand on his back and he realized they weren’t alone.

“I’m sorry that happened,” a voice said behind him and he needed a moment to recognize him as Connor. What was he doing here? “I complained to the captain yesterday,” Connor confessed, and he seemed genuinely remorseful about that.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with that,” Shachi said.

“But-”

“Don’t take yourself as so important,” Shachi interrupted him, not unkind. “Pen has been a member of this crew for a long time. Law wouldn't do that about something so trivial.”

“Then what-”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with this. It’s just … Law has a small problem to trust Pen at the moment, therefore ...” He drifted of, obviously not wanting to say too much.

Connor didn’t say anything, but his hand remained between Penguin’s shoulder blades.

“I’m still sorry,” he finally said. “I guess we had a bad start, huh? I should’ve trusted you more.”

The moment he had lost Law’s trust in him Connor suddenly decided to trust him – he shouldn’t be surprised with his luck. He squeezed Shachi tighter.

“That’s what being a pirate is about, isn’t it?” Connor mused. “Trusting each other. I should’ve realized that much sooner. Again, sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Shachi said. “But would you go now, please? I want to get Pen to his rooms.”

The hand on his back disappeared.

“Okay. See you around then.”

He heard him walking away and as the sound of his foot steps had disappeared, Shachi kissed his ear. Holding him tight, he murmured, “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the hurt continues! I hope you all liked this chapter (if not ... you know how to comment ;D).  
> Anyway, let me hear your thoughts. What do you think about Law's behavior? Or Shachi's?


	11. Chapter 11

They made it to their shared quarters, but to his surprise, Shachi didn’t want to stay. Penguin sat down on the bed, feeling disgusting because he still didn’t have his shower yet and now his face felt wet with tears and snot, too. He turned his face away from Shachi, the shadow of his hat falling over it.

“Hey.” Shachi put a hand on his shoulder, his voice straining. “I have to do something, but I’ll return in, say, half an hour? Why don’t you go shower in the meantime?”

Penguin nodded, confused. Had he still something to do in the kitchen? Shachi’s hand left his shoulder and he heard the door click shut a few seconds afterwards. It had to have to do something with his duties. He wiped the tears off with one hand, but they wouldn’t stop. He stood up and went into the bathroom, putting his hat down on a nearby stool and glared at his image in the mirror. His eyes were red-rimmed, but he couldn't stop the shudders wrecking his body.

He wished Shachi was here. But he’d left so hastily.

He gripped the washbasin with both hands. Something was off, Shachi had left too abruptly and there had been something off in his voice, too. Surely he didn’t plan on confronting Law?

But that was exactly what someone like Shachi would do. He slapped his cheek, willing himself to stop crying and rushed out of the bathroom without putting his hat back on. He left their room in the same manner, not bothering to close the door properly and rushed trough the hallways, which were still empty as most of the crew had to be gathered in the common room.

Shachi would only get himself into trouble. Maybe Law could forgive him, as Shachi hadn’t done anything wrong per se, he had just fallen in love with an idiot and hadn’t betrayed him. Would he be in his quarters? Law hadn’t seem to be willing to answer too much questions, so he’d have left shortly after them and probably had gone there. If he hurried he would still be able to make it in time.

He stopped in his tracks as he suddenly heard voices just around the corner. Willing his breathing to calm down, he slowly approached the corner and peeked around it. At first, he noticed the red shock of Shachi’s hair, halfway turned away from him. Before him stood Law. His face was carefully schooled, no emotion spilling from it, and his arms crossed in front of his body, but he seemed to listen. Their words drifted over to him.

“It’s been my fault, ya know,” he heard Shachi say. He wondered how long they had stood there by now. It couldn’t have been more than just a few minutes. “I just – I lost control. And I’m sorry, but I kissed him without his permission. But he has never cheated on you.”

“But he wanted to,” Law finally said. He didn’t seem surprised that Shachi had known about his relationship.

“Maybe. But he would’ve never done something about it. You can’t hate him for something he wants, he has no control over that.”

Law snorted.

“And you think I can just go back to how it was, do you? That’s awfully simple. How can I go back if I know that he wants the same thing with you?” He took a step back, his eyes blinking a bit more rapidly then before. “And I’m only telling you this because we have been friends for a long time now. So don’t make me repeat myself when I say that I want nothing to do with him anymore.”

Shachi stepped forward, closing the distance which he had brought between them again.

“You have been friends with Pen for a long time, too! I know it’s not exactly conventional, but – I’m sure you still have feelings for him, otherwise you wouldn’t be that hurt. Wouldn't you at least consider it? You know, that Pen-”

“Do you even listen to yourself?” Law hissed. “You talk about feelings like that would make everything suddenly okay. What, should I just go and fuck both of you just because Penguin feels like it?”

Penguin put a hand over his mouth, trying not to let a sound slip through.

“You don’t have to be so hurtful, ya know.” Shachi came even closer. “And yeah, that would be one possibility. Or you could allow Penguin to have a relationship with both you and me, but we two don’t have to anything with each other.”

Law pushed him away and growled, “And where exactly are my needs in this equation, huh? Ever thought about that?”

Shachi didn’t back away as he put a hand around his wrist.

“Then tell me, what do _you_ want?”

There was a moment of silence. Penguin held his breath, still hovering around the corner.

Law opened his mouth.

“I want to be left alone.”

Shachi’s face fell, then he slammed one hand against the wall next to Law’s head.

“ _Why_ do you have to be so stubborn?”

Law’s face darkened.

“Back off,” he said. “You can do what you want with Pen, I hereby give you my permission. I’m sure you mean much more to each other than he ever meant to me.”

With that, he pushed his arm away and stepped past him, heels hurriedly clacking on the metal floor. Penguin leaned against the wall, still out of sight, but it was increasingly harder to stifle his sounds as he heard him walk away.

“You can come out, Pen. I know you’re there.”

Finally, Penguin let his breath out and swallowed a sob as he pushed himself off the wall and rounded the corner. Shachi gave him a level look. The knuckles on his right hand were red and his mouth was set into a thin line.

“Why did you do that?” Penguin let himself fall face-first against his chest and closed his eyes as Shachi’s arms immediately came around him.

“You know why.”

“No, I don’t. Why aren’t you upset with me, too? You don’t want to have a relationship with him, but you still suggest it to him as if you were okay with it.”

“Who says I’m not?”

Penguin halted.

“Well, are you …?”

“I’m not in love with him,” Shachi said, his fingers pressing into his hair. “But I know him. And I respect him. Well, usually, ‘cause right now he’s a huge ass-”

“He isn’t.” Penguin lifted his head and took a step back. “It’s all my fault. I should’ve been honest from the start.”

“You couldn’t have known that you also-”

“The more I think about it the more I believe that I was just really, _really_ good at suppressing any thoughts like that,” Penguin interrupted him bitterly. Shachi sighed.

“Okay. Be that as it may be, but – we have to do something. Law loves you, I know that. _You_ know that. And I will be damned if you won’t be back together as soon as possible.”

Penguin snorted.

“And what’s your plan for that?”

Shachi raked his hand through his hair and let his shoulders fall. He said, “I have absolutely no idea.”

 

Penguin wandered aimlessly the hallways. He had no duties today, as he had done a fast job with repairing and maintaining the machines on the day before. He was tired, having talked with Shachi till late at night, but the best they had come up with was to let Law alone for a while so he could sort his thoughts. He wasn’t sure if this was the right decision though – maybe Law’s anger would just manifest itself until there was no way back to the way they were.

Who was he kidding anyway. It had been wonderful while it lasted, but now it was over. He sighed, rounding another corner and found himself in front of the small library on the upper level of the Polar Tang. _Huh_ , he thought. He had no idea how he’d gotten here. But there was no reason not to go in if he already was here, so he opened the door and went in.

There already was a person here.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t want to bother you-”

“You’re not bothering me at all,” Robin said, while turning over a page. She sat in the far corner of the stuffy room, walls completely hidden behind high bookshelves, “it’s your ship after all.”

“It’s not my ship.” He closed the door behind himself and hovered near it. “It’s Law’s.”

“But you’re still a member of the crew.” Then, she looked at him – she hadn’t been there in the common room yesterday, as this had been something that only concerned the crew, but news traveled fast.

“I wonder about that.”

Penguin sighed, but pushed himself off the door and picked a random book from one of the shelves. He wasn’t one to read much, except if the topic interested him, so he only let the book rest on his lap as he settled down next to her.

“Is this something you’re interested in?” Robin asked, expression carefully schooled as she looked down to his lap. He followed her gaze. It was a thin booklet about a deep sea excursion which he had actually read sometime, so he nodded at her, but still didn’t open it, opting to stroke his finger down the narrow back of it.

“It’s a topic not widely known,” he said, only because he didn’t know what else to tell her.

“That makes it all the more interesting. Do you go on excursions like that often?”

Penguin shook his head.

“No, actually not. It’s just … we like to avoid fighting against the Marine as often as possible.”

“This is a sensible solution then.” She smiled, ever so faintly. She creeped him out a bit. “I’d still like to visit this underwater city myself.”

“Why don’t you go then?”

“I’ve asked your captain, but he didn’t seem to trust me yet enough for me to ride in the shuttle. Maybe I’m not experienced enough.”

Penguin snorted.

“He let Connor team up with me, and that guy isn’t experienced either.”

Robin smiled.

“Apparently it just comes down to trust then. I’m not a crew member. I can understand that.”

Trust – Connor had talked about that, too, the day before. It was something he had just seen as given. As long as the four of them had known each other – Law, Shachi, Bepo and himself – they didn’t have to think about trust for a very long time. They just trusted each other without anyone declaring so. The finger stroking the back of the book stopped.

“Maybe you should ask him now.”

The cards were on the table again, open for all eyes to see. He felt like he had broken something, maybe the table the cards were lying on top.

“What do you think,” he suddenly exclaimed, only stopping as half of his question had fallen out of his mouth, unable to stop himself, “what do you think about loving more than one person?”

She seemed dumbfounded at first, eyes widening ever so slightly. She didn’t answer immediately, too, as if she genuinely thought about his question.

“I think that this is a normal occurrence. I, too, love many people, including my crew, of course.”

 _That’s not what I meant_ , Penguin thought, but it was for the better if he didn’t try to talk to a total stranger about an intimate topic like that.

“You think there is a difference?” Robin asked further, bemusement in her voice. “Between loving people as friends and loving them as something else?” Penguin snapped his head up, a blush creeping up his face as she folded her legs the other way around. She didn’t look at him, nor did she look at the rows of books lining the wall as her gaze seemed trapped somewhere at the back in her mind. “I love each and every one of my crew. But there is no one I feel exactly the same about.”

“You miss them.”

“I do.” Robin smiled at him, now back in the present. “But I’ve got Franky here with me. And Zoro.”

“That’s different, though.”

“How?”

“Well...” He blushed. Why the hell was he talking with her about this topic? He felt naked under her attentive gaze. “I mean … there is a difference … between friendship and love.”

“No more than there is between two friendships.” She leaned back. “I don’t know what exactly you’re thinking about, mister heart pirate,” she said and fixed her eyes on her book again, “but I’ve learned never to hold back if I’m able to. Life, especially as a pirate, is too short for that.”

He stared at her, but she didn’t seem to want to say anything else. It sounded so simple. Too simple to be applicable to life, but he wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe Shachi.

To have a relationship with both of them sounded too good to be true. But for the first time after Law had discarded him he wanted to fight for it again.

 

“Calm down, please, Pen.”

They stood in the hallway in front of the captain’s quarters and Penguin had been fidgeting nervously since they had devised the plan to simply talk to Law. It seemed to be the most sensible solution, but he was still anxious. Shachi knocked on the door, not too loudly, but not shy either. He and Penguin held hands, which probably wasn’t the best way to show their unity in this, but otherwise Penguin would have been much more nervous.

They waited for a few seconds. Nothing moved behind the door. Shachi knocked again, this time more insistently, but still there was no sound to be heard.

“Maybe he isn’t in there?” Penguin mused.

“Bullshit.” Shachi glared at the door. “I’ve seen him go in there.”

They stood in the hallway for a few more minutes, but finally had to admit defeat.

“Maybe it’s still too early.” Shachi sighed. “Let’s try tomorrow.”

As they went along the hallways and into the kitchen Penguin felt as time run between his fingers. Would they be knocking on Law’s door until they arrived at Wa No Kuni and fight against Kaido?

He sat down at the table as they’d arrived at the kitchen, watching the way Shachi’s muscles moved beneath the thin cotton shirt he wore as he made tea. He suppressed the urge to come up to him and kiss his neck, even if he wanted to. It didn’t feel right to do so, not as long as he hadn’t settled things with Law.

“Don’t think too much.” Shachi set a steaming mug in front of him. “You’ve got a crease between your eyebrows.”

Penguin rubbed at the spot and put his hands around the mug, staring at the steam that raised from it. Shachi sat beside him, a bit too near to him to be considered only friendly, and bumped his shoulder.

He heard someone approaching the kitchen, immediately shuffling a bit to the right to avoid questioning glances of whoever was about to come in.

He heard a surprised inhale and turned around – Law stood at the door and glared at them, as if it was their fault that they met this way. He hesitated only for a second or two though, and then passed them to fill up the mug he carried with coffee. Penguin exchanged a look with Shachi. Maybe this would be their chance.

“Um ...” He really didn’t know how to start. Law threw him a look over his shoulder. “Can we talk … maybe?” He hated how meek he sounded, but at least he had his attention now.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Law replied, his spine stiff. He wore his favorite yellow hoodie, a black stain which was probably coffee darkening the seam on one of his sleeves. Penguin bit his lip.

“Please.”

This time, Law didn’t reply. He put the pot of coffee down after he was done, then seemed to think about it twice and grabbed it, too, before he passed them again to leave the kitchen.

“Wait!” Shachi sprung up and hastened to him to block his way. “We just want to talk to you.”

“Then it seems that your wishes run contrarily to mine again,” Law said icily. “Now move.”

Penguin stood up, too, rushing to Shachi’s side, as he didn’t want the two of them fighting over him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

“We, um, we just wanted to talk about you about-”’

“I am perfectly aware about what you want to talk and I’m not interested. Didn’t I make myself clear enough the first time?”

“Yes, but-”

“No, Penguin!” Law shouted. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want anything to do with you anymore! And also not with you,” he said to Shachi. “Now fuck off.”

He tried to get around them again, but Shachi moved in the same direction, essentially cutting his way off again.

“You haven’t even thought about it!” he accused him, invading his space and Law suddenly raised his hand and Shachi flinched, actually taking a step back. Law used that small moment to leap past them and practically run out of the kitchen.

Penguin took a shuddering breath. That had been a disaster.

“It’s okay, Pen. He’ll come around.” Shachi laid an arm around him and Penguin realized he was trembling.

“No, he won’t,” he whispered.

They hadn’t achieved anything with this small interlude, except to scare him off even more. When he thought about it, it had to feel like an ambush to Law. How stupid was he to realize that only afterwards?

Suddenly, the speakers crackled.

“Alert! The ship’s under attack! I repeat! The ship is under attack! Go to your stations immediately!”

Penguin’s heart thudded in his chest. He only wasted one second to look at Shachi, then both of them ran out of the kitchen and were on their way to their stations. A huge blast shook the Polar Tang and he crashed against the side of the wall as he lost his balance; he picked himself up and began running again. A second explosion roared through the submarine and suddenly the entire ship groaned and there was pressure on his ears. They seemed to sink lower – was this a deliberate move or had there been a hole ripped into the mantle of the ship?

His heart pounded as he arrived at the bridge. Law stood between Bepo and a few other crew members, shouting out commands. Even the Straw Hats were there. Only then he realized that he wasn’t technically second-in-command anymore and that he had no place in here.

“Steer us to the deep sea trench!” Law shouted at Bepo, who stood at the steering wheel. “It should be broad enough for the Polar Tang to fit in!”

Penguin held his breath as the Polar Tang’s nose dipped even lower. He couldn’t see anything – the bridge had no bull’s eye because it would have been useless in this darkness anyway. He could only hear the loud sound of the radar, the steadily beeping grating on his nerves. Again, there was an explosion directly over his head.

“Who’s targeting us?” he asked into the room and Law’s head jolted up.

“The Marine,” he said, “those fuckers have something against us being here, I think.”

“Two thousand meters,” Bepo announced. They already had to be in the trench then. It seemed that Law wanted to escape them by hiding where they couldn't follow. But the thought of the deep rupture on the bottom of the ocean left a queasy feeling in his stomach. “Two thousand five hundred.”

They sunk, and no explosion followed. Still, Law didn’t give the command to stop.

“Four thousand.” Bepo sounded uneasy. The Polar Tang groaned under the pressure of the water surrounding them. “Five.”

“Isn’t that enough?” some other crew mate said. Law shook his head, his knuckles white were he pressed them against the navigating board.

“Six.”

Penguin wished Bepo would stop to announce the depth they were in. How deep was this trench anyway? The radar began to beep quicker and Law nodded at Bepo, who finally pressed a button on the board. A jolt went through the submarine as it finally came to a halt.

“We’re at a depth of six thousand four hundred meters now, captain.” Bepo announced. A murmur went through the small crowd. They’d never dived that deep before.

Penguin couldn’t help but think that Law had slightly overreacted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're thinking that Shachi and Pen behave like dicks in this chapter you may be right :P


	12. Chapter 12

Blood rushed loudly through his ears. They hadn’t ever dived that deep before, even as they traveled to Fishman Island, which wasn’t as deep down as they were now. The radar continued to beep, grating on his steadily declining nerves. Penguin fidgeted, still in the entrance way of the captain’s deck, unsure if he could come in or not.

Bepo was the first to speak.

“The Polar Tang isn’t constructed to withhold this pressure for long,” he announced. “Also, I had to release a huge amount of air to be able to let us sink to this level. We won’t be able to stay here for more than a few hours.”

A murmur went through the small crowd. So it was only a momentarily relapse. A few hours to catch their breath and prepare for the unavoidable fight.

Law sent him a level look.

“How long exactly?” he asked, but Bepo was already tipping something into the navigating board and calculated, lowly mumbling to himself.

“In my estimation about six hours.”

Law nodded. Another crew member spoke up, “Maybe the Marine’s warship will be gone when we resurface?”

“That’s an idle hope,” Law snapped at him. “They’d be stupid if they didn’t anticipate us resurfacing sooner or later. We’re trapped.”

He spoke like it didn’t matter, but Penguin caught the faintest waver in his voice. And the way he held himself, his arms close to his side, the length of his back slightly bowed – he was more tense then he wanted the crew to know. It was most likely that this was his own worst case scenario. To be trapped like a bunny in its cave, hiding from the wolf who blocked the entrance.

“We should follow the trench and see were it leads,” Penguin spoke up. Law’s head snapped up and he fixated him with a calculating gaze. “Maybe we’ll be able to escape.”

“A ship this big will have a radar of it’s own,” Bepo intervened. He was right – most navy ships didn’t have a radar, but the giant warships of the World Government were equipped only with the best gear. “And we won’t be able to drive quickly. The trench is too narrow for that.”

“They will only follow us and wait till we have to resurface.” Law leaned against the board, knuckles white as he enclosed his hands on the edge. He turned to Bepo. “What about that map? Did you finally finish it?”

Bepo hurried to a nearby desk, a widespread paper lying on it. It was marked with lines and little symbols which Penguin had learned the meaning of in the last few years. He wouldn’t be very useful as a second-in-command if he couldn't read sea maps. Bepo pointed at a mark on the map where several lines were drawn tightly against each other.

“We’re here,” he said to Law who had bend over the table. “As you can see, the trench goes north-west for a few miles and then slowly becomes flatter. We wouldn’t be able to hide for long if we followed that way.” He laid his paw on another spot on the map. “But if we’d be able drive backwards, there will be a ledge only five hundred meters from us. It should be broad enough to completely hide the submarine beneath it.”

“The Marine isn’t stupid,” Law said, eyebrows furrowed. “If we just vanish on the spot, they’ll still assume we’re there.”

“Not if we distract them.” Bepo tipped his nose. “We still have a few torpedoes in storage. It would be a good opportunity to use them.”

Penguin couldn't help but to be in awe of Bepo’s intellect. Most people assumed that he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the shed, simply for the fact that he was a polar bear, but he wasn’t the Heart Pirates’ navigator for nothing. Law seemed to contemplate the plan for a moment, cradling his chin in one hand.

“Alright,” he finally said and turned around to address the crew, “we will hide under the ledge – Shachi, I want you to fire two torpedoes in a ten second interval at the warship above us. Bepo, locate its exact whereabouts immediately.”

Shachi stepped up to the board, his hands steady over the buttons which would direct and fire off the torpedoes.

“Isn’t ten seconds a bit short though?” he asked. Law glared at him.

“Don’t question me!”

The submarine began to vibrate as Bepo began to steer it backwards. Penguin held onto the door frame as Bepo managed to steer it over the ocean floor without scratching the sides on the nearby walls of the trench. He didn’t use the radar to steer through the valley though, instead he had directed it above them in search of the warship, the beeping now much slower than before. It wasn’t easy to locate something as far away as this, but the sheer size of their opponent’s ship would help to locate it anyway. He relied only on the map he had drawn earlier, constantly checking his surroundings and calculating where they were.

“We will arrive under the ledge in twenty seconds,” Bepo announced and Shachi tensed.

“You better hurry up with locating the target then!”

Bepo opened his mouth wanting to answer him, but suddenly the Polar Tang shook with the force of another hit and Penguin stumbled, sudden pain flaring up in his head as he hit it against the door frame.

“They’ve found us!” someone screamed, but his ears ringed.

He distantly heard someone calling his name, but then another explosion followed just as he hit the floor, dark spots dancing around his eyes. His sight was sideways, people running around while the floor vibrated beneath his fingers. Cold sweat collected on his neck at the thought of the mantle bursting. The submarine would crumble like a can under the water pressure. He wanted to stand up again, hands pushing himself up against the floor, but a wave of sudden nausea rushed through his stomach, his sight narrowing and vanishing.

 

As he came to, he leaned forward and puked.

His head was assaulted with waves of pain and the room seemed to spin. Someone held his arm and he realized that he was lying on a bed, a bucket conveniently put under his nose so he wouldn't vomit on the floor. He heaved a few times again, but nothing new came out and he let himself fall back down again.

He was in the infirmary. There was the familiar metal ceiling over him, carefully painted in a bright yellow to brighten the patient’s moods. He closed his eyes, hoping that it would help against his nausea.

“What happened?” he croaked. His mouth felt stuffy and whoever sat at his bedside helped him sit up again to hold a glass of water against his lips. He greedily drank a few gulps down.

“Not so fast. You don’t want to throw up again.”

He gave a start and opened his eyes again, but immediately regretted it as another wave of nausea hit him. It was Law who was sitting next to him, face pale and lips thin.

“What are you doing here?” he murmured. He felt weak and his skin felt clammy and too tight around himself.

“I’m still a doctor, you know.”

Penguin snorted. He didn’t remember much, but his head hurt and he knew that he had to have passed out.

“So I guess we didn’t die.”

He hadn’t been so sure for a few, agonizingly long moments. The submarine had been at a great depth, the warship above them firing at them and threatening to destroy the mantle.

“Not yet. Bepo’s plan worked. We’re currently hiding under that ledge he mentioned.”

Penguin made an approving noise, not daring to nod or even open his eyes. He listened to the other sounds in the room, but there was only the deep drone of the Polar Tang’s life support system. It seemed as if he were alone with his captain.

“You’ve got a concussion, but only a mild one,” Law explained. He heard him move slightly. Why was he here? He still hated him and didn’t want to do anything with him. He had hurt him so badly.

“You don’t have to be here, if you don’t want to.” Penguin clenched his hands under the thin covers he was lying under. He felt cold. “I’m sure there are enough other people who’d take care of me.”

Law didn’t answer, but he heard him sigh.

“I’m really not cut out for this shit,” he heard him say after a while. “You worried me there, you know? I was concentrated on Bepo and when I turned around you were suddenly on the floor and unconscious.”

“Hit my head … I think.” The memories were still hazy.

“I know. You’ve got a spectacular bump on your forehead.”

“How long-”

“Only for a few minutes,” Law answered before he had any chance to ask. A cool hand raked through his hair and he leaned into it before he could stop himself. “I just brought you here.”

He was so kind to him, even if he didn’t deserve it. Penguin turned his head away from his touch, clenching his eyes shut. That meant he still would have to fight in a few hours. He pressed his face into the hard mattress beneath him. He had never liked the infirmary, it had this sterile smell and overall was no place to get healthy again.

But Law was here. Even if he’d better be on the bridge and try to come up with a strategy to come out of this situation (but there was none. They were still trapped and would be forced to fight). His skin prickled. Maybe this was the opportunity he had waited for.

He took a deep breath.

“Law … are you okay?”

The other snorted. He could feel the warmth of his body next to him, this was how near he was.

“You’re the one lying here and yet you ask me if I’m okay?”

“Not because of this, but because of … what happened. Between us, I mean.”

It took a long while for him to respond and Penguin wondered if he had gone too far again, if he’d read the situation wrong. Maybe Law just wanted to assure himself that he would be fine, so he wouldn’t be a burden in the upcoming fight.

Law inhaled sharply.

“No … I’m not okay. Not at all.”

Suddenly there was something pressing against his back, right between his shoulder blades, and he realized that Law had pushed his face against the spot, one arm sneaking around him. “I don’t know if I’d okay with this. But I don’t want to continue like this either.”

Penguin’s heart began to thud. He couldn’t actually mean what he thought, could he?

“I don’t know if I’d want to try something with Shachi, though. He’s … a friend, but I haven’t thought about something else with him.”

“You don’t have to!” Penguin hastily assured him. He wondered if it would be okay to turn around and hug him, but this still felt so fragile. He half thought that this was only a hit-induced dream.

There was a sudden knock on the door frame and Law flinched away. Penguin opened his eyes to see who the visitor was.

“No worries, it’s only me,” Shachi said, coming in. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t avoid overhearing a bit.”

Law tensed and Penguin couldn't help but feel that Shachi had chosen the worst moment to appear. Still, he came in and closed the door behind himself, but didn’t come any closer, instead he moved from the door and then leaned against the wall. So Law would be free to go, Penguin realized. He consciously didn’t stand in front of the door, so as not to let him feel trapped – and the best thing was that it seemed to work because Law’s shoulders lost a good amount of that tension.

“I’m sorry,” Shachi said, staring straight at Law, “about how I handled the situation in the kitchen. And before. You’re right. I didn’t count your feelings into the equation at all.”

Law didn’t move, but he had his gaze fixed on him, listening intently.

“And I’m sorry for shouting at you,” Penguin added, forcing himself to look at Law instead of at the fuzz of the covers. It seemed to be the time for apologies after all.

Law bit his lip.

“All right,” he said finally.

Something unclenched from Penguin's chest then and he felt nearly light-headed. Shachi watched them, uncharacteristically silent. Slowly, Penguin turned to Law.

“What now?”

“I’m not sure if I’m okay with this,” Law repeated slowly, as if to test the words on his tongue, “but I don’t want to waste any more time.”

Penguin shivered and asked, “Can I hug you then?”

Law’s eyes flicked to Shachi, who still leaned against the wall, hands behind his back. There was a faint tinge of redness across his cheeks. Then he nodded.

Penguin moved slowly, half because he still felt sick and half because he wanted him to have ample time to move away from him if he wanted to. He shuffled nearer to where he sat on the edge of the bed, hand reaching out to him, and then the first touch since so long went through him like an electric jolt and Law inhaled sharply, chest rising. His hand stroked up his arm and over his shoulder, still clad in the cotton of his yellow hoodie, and touched the naked skin on his neck before he leaned forward and raked it through the soft hair at his nape. Law’s eyes fluttered, but he didn’t close them, choosing to watch him carefully.

Shachi cleared his throat.

“Should I go?”

His tone was light, but Penguin could hear the tenseness in his voice. He didn’t want to go. How did it have to feel to see his former lover this intimate with his captain? His rival? Law’s eyes slid to the side.

“No, I don’t think Penguin wants you to.” He lifted his own hand to join Penguin’s in his neck, the warmth of his palm seeping into his fingers. “You can come over, if you want.”

This was a bigger admission than he had anticipated, but Shachi wasted no time as he pushed himself off the wall and hurried over to them. For a moment, he hovered uncertainly near the bed, but Penguin shuffled his legs out of the way so he could sit down on the side of it, still a small distance away from Law.

“Is this okay?” he asked because he had a feeling that every time he did so Law opened up a bit more to him. It couldn’t be this easy, could it?

“I guess.”

Law largely ignored Shachi, his eyes only flicking for a second to him, as he bend over Penguin and hovered over his face. He hesitated and Penguin nearly vibrated in anticipation, but eventually Law closed the last distance between them and pressed his lips against his. He had obviously intended for it to be only a short kiss, breaking it only a second after he started it, but then he came in again, sliding his mouth against his, his eyes finally sliding shut and a shiver run down his spine. There was still this familiar shyness of him, even more so with one more person in the room, and Penguin felt as if he had opened up his chest.

But he still needed to clarify. He needed to hear it out of his mouth.

He slid one hand over his cheek, marveling in the scratchy feeling of his sideburns, and gently pushed him away. Law tried to resist a bit, but ultimately gave in and opened his eyes.

“Could we talk about this a bit more?” Penguin looked between him and Shachi. “I mean – is this really okay for you? C-can I kiss him?”

He wanted to. As nice as it was to kiss Law, it also reminded him of kissing Shachi. He felt so greedy.

Law nodded slowly.

“Yeah, but,” his Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed, “only on one condition.”

Shachi looked as if he wanted to argue about that point, but gladly managed to hold himself back.

“What condition?”

Law looked embarrassed.

“I don’t want you two … to do things alone. If you want to kiss him or touch him, I want to be there, too.”

Penguin blinked at him. It seemed strange to him, at first, but then something clicked into place. Maybe Law’s problem with Shachi wasn’t so much that he felt something for the other man, but more that he felt excluded. As if Penguin would someday decide that Shachi would be enough for him and leave him behind after all that effort he had put him through.

He looked at Shachi, seeking his approval, but the redhead already nodded frantically.

“All right,” he echoed Law’s earlier words and tried to smile reassuringly, but his eyes already were wet. 

The realization only made his tears come quicker and he tried to hold them back, but there was the first one rolling down his cheeks and a flood followed after. He was mortified to bawl like a child, even more so as he took in Law’s embarrassed face, but then he suddenly put his arms around him and held him tight. He had to smell really unpleasant, what with his puking and all, but he didn’t want to say something and just held onto him, grabbing the soft cotton of his hoodie and burying his face into his neck. He would wash it later, if he had to.

A second pair of arms encompassed him and he realized that Shachi embraced both of them, his cheek pressed against the top of Penguin’s head. Law tensed for a moment and Penguin nuzzled his nose into his skin, a reassurance that he still was here. That he wasn’t going anywhere.

As long as he’d have him, he would stay.


	13. Chapter 13

The hug ended rather sooner than later, due to the awkwardness of the whole situation. Law’s cheeks were still dusted red, but Shachi beamed at the two of them and Penguin smiled uncertainly, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“We should prepare for the fight,” Law finally said, wiping off some imaginary dirt off his hoodie. Penguin nodded and swung his legs over the side of the bed, ready to stand up. Law pushed him back down. “You shouldn’t stand up this soon. You still have a concussion and it would be better if you’d sit this fight out.”

Penguin bristled.

“It’s an entire warship! I am one of your best fighters, I should help you!”

Law sighed and pinched the spot between his eyebrows.

“I know. And I’d really like to see you standing beside me in the fight. But I don’t want you to strain yourself too much.”

“He’s right,” Shachi, that traitor, said, “you don’t know how you’d hurt yourself if you fight in your condition.”

Penguin pouted, resisting Law’s hands only slightly.

“I could stay on the bridge. To watch how things are going. And I’d only jump in if things got tight.”

Law seemed to want to argue, brows furrowed and hand pressing more against him for a moment, but then he leaned back and huffed.

“Well, okay. But if I see you there when the situation doesn’t warrant it-”

“Got it.”

Penguin saluted and smirked at him. Law looked at him challenging, as if he dared to defy him, and proceeded to stand up.

“I’m off then,” he announced as looked between Shachi and Penguin. “And remember my condition. Don’t do anything.”

He left the room and Penguin turned to Shachi, who shuffled closer, but made no attempt to touch him. He lifted an eyebrow.

“If you’re gonna ask me if I’m okay with this ...” he began, but Penguin shook his head.

“You said you were.” He bit his lip. “But are you really-”

“I am.” Shachi ruffled his hair. “I mean, it’s not ideal for me, but if he can accept us under that condition I see no reason to say no. I’ll just smooch you in front of him then.” He snickered and held a hand out to him. “He has no idea what he got himself into! Come on, let’s get you to the bridge.”

As they arrived at the bridge Penguin was the tiniest bit grateful that Law had forbidden him to fight. He still felt nauseous and his legs were wobbly. Shachi didn’t have to support him, but he clearly had wanted to the entire way, looking into his direction every so often and nibbling on his lower lip like he wanted to say something.

On the bridge were only a handful of people, including their captain, Bepo, the Straw Hats and two other crew members. They were all bent over the map and discussing when and where they should resurface.

“We should use this as our opportunity,” Robin said, “the Marines don’t know when we’ll have to come up again, so it would be advisable not to wait until the last minute.”

Law nodded, chin cradled in one of his hands. When did he became so prone to listening to the woman? It must had something to do with the two of them working so close together for the last few days. Penguin felt jealousy flare up in him again, but quickly stifled it. There was no reason to.

Finally having noticed them, Law looked up and beckoned them closer. He technically didn't have any rank anymore, but he chose to ignore it for now and went over to him. It took a few seconds until he realized that Law waited for his own input.

He cleared his throat, flustered.

“We should resurface soon, so that we still have air left in the case that we have to escape them.” Law nodded at him. Robin had hinted at the same thing and he obviously agreed with them.

“All right. Let’s prepare for the battle and resurface in two hours.”

Instantly, the crew began to assemble themselves. Weapons were loaded and loose items fastened in case they had to make a fast escape. He noticed that the Straw Hats didn’t seem to be nervous at all.

“The Marine will notice us the moment we leave our hiding place,” Penguin whispered to Law. “What do we do if they fire at us before we’re able to reach the surface?”

“There’s nothing we can do about that.”

He knew that, but it still left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He clutched his own weapon, a spear nearly two meters long, and stood straighter.

Then, there wasn’t much to do for him except to wait.

Law gave the command to resurface a few minutes before the two hours were up. Bepo steered them carefully out from under the ledge and began to fill the tanks with air again, announcing the decreasing depth every other minute while he watched the radar for anything approaching them. So far nothing had happened. He wondered if the warship would still be there. It was an idle hope, as Law had said, but maybe they would have luck once in their life and they had left-

Bepo shouted and as Penguin looked at the radar he saw a green dot approaching them fast. It had to be some sort of missile and Bepo dodged it with a hasty turn of the submarine. They had been noticed. Penguin clenched his hands around his spear, but they couldn’t do much until they had resurfaced. The Polar Tang was equipped with a few torpedoes of its own, but those were difficult to obtain and they shouldn’t use them if they didn’t have to. The only other way to bring them safe to the surface was to evade the missiles. Two more appeared on the radar.

Bepo mumbled something and concentrated on evading them. There was a heavy silence on the bridge as they waited in anticipation. There was no way to know if the ship would withstand another hit.

“We’re at two thousand meters,” Bepo said and hope flared up in Penguin.

They had nearly made it by now. The water around them still had to be pitch-black, but the pressure was much lower here than at the depth of the trench.

“One thousand.”

The crew began to leave the bridge to assemble at the exit, ready to fight. Law glared at him, as if to reassure himself that he still had enough authority over him that Penguin wouldn’t just suddenly decide to defy his orders and hurl himself into the fight, too. Penguin send him a small smile, barely noticeable, and as Law hurried past him, their shoulders brushed for a moment. He wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not.

He instantly became aware of the moment the Polar Tang resurfaced. Bepo announced it, too, leaving his station as he hurried after his crew mates, but he could just feel that they weren’t surrounded by the deathly pressure of the water now.

By now, he stood alone on the bridge.

There wasn’t much more to do than step up to the main-board and squint through the binoculars. He put his hands onto the handles on each side and swerved it – the warship was still there and he could see the tiny dots of several soldiers running around on it. Suddenly, there was an explosion – and was that Law? It was difficult to distinguish from this distance and he zoomed in. The fight had started, several marines falling down like flies as the Heart Pirates attacked the ship. He wished he could be there, too, but his head felt still dizzy and he had promised it.

Shachi and Bepo made short work of the lower-ranking marines, while Law was now face to face with someone who had to be of higher rank, by the sheer amount of medals on his chest and the mean look on his face. He bit his lip. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to stitch their captain together after this fight.

But Law fought admirably. He couldn’t help the feeling of adoration welling up in him as he watched him move, each shift of his muscles part of a carefully planned attack or the result of his quick reflexes. The officer didn’t stand a chance against his devil’s fruit ability and Penguin watched in glee as he cut him up and then jumped into the midst of some other marines to help his subordinates out.

It had to be a coincidence that they had been found and attacked then. The warship would have been manned with stronger men if that weren’t the case, as Law was known for his notorious fighting style and the strength of the rest of the crew. It was likely that they just had been on their way through this waters.

Suddenly, there was someone approaching Law fast and he tensed as he watched him avoid the hit just barely, jumping out of the way before a huge fist could land a hit on him. He tensed. He couldn’t hear anything from his spot deep in the Polar Tang and that made him unsettled. Law had his eyes fixed on his new opponent, his sword Kikoku drawn, and the fight began anew.

This opponent posed a higher threat than the previous ones to Law, who was pushed into defense, jumping away from the attacks and switching things left and right. Was this the point where he would be allowed to join the fight? Law looked like he needed help, but he was unsure what to do.

Suddenly, a huge dome appeared, and Penguin held his breath as he realized what Law was about to do. He swung Kikoku, the sword describing a wide arc before him, and most of the fight suddenly stopped as the upper half of the ship slid sideways, threatening to crush the people below as it skidded away and crushed into the ocean. The Polar Tang shook with the incoming waves and Penguin’s grip on the handles tightened.

The warship was sinking. Law used his chance while everyone was distracted and deal the final blow to his opponent, his sword cut across his stomach and he fell over the railing. Law seemed to yell something and immediately his own crew began to gather and jump from the sinking ship and Penguin heard the first of his crew mates enter the Polar Tang again and run along the hallways.

He noticed Law leaning on Bepo, his head down, and finally teared himself away from the binoculars to run to meet him.

They ran into each other halfway and Penguin wasted no time to take in his appearance: Exhausted, hair matted on his forehead, but at first glance unharmed. Shachi rounded the corner a moment later and likewise unharmed, taking a weight off his mind.

“Are you hurt?” he asked anyway.

“He has used too much power. _Again_ ,” Bepo chastised, “but I’m sure it will be better if he rests for a while. That okay for you, captain?”

Law nodded, clearly ready for some sleep when he didn’t even try to protest, and Penguin took over Bepo’s hold on him. Together with Shachi they steered him to his quarters and laid him on his bed. He seemed ready to sleep his exhaustion off, eyes already half closed, and Penguin pulled the covers over him.

“I should have been there, too,” he said and sat on the edge of the bed. He knew he should, but he didn’t want to leave just yet.

“Bullshit,” Law murmured. “It would have been more dangerous if you had been there. Both for you and me. You’d have distracted me.”

Penguin blushed and Shachi, who used this moment to sit down beside them, grinned.

“Aw, you can be a real romantic, Law!” he teased him and Law frowned.

“I’m only saying the truth.”

But the damage, if you wanted to call that, was already done and a warm feeling spread in his stomach as he looked between them. The two people who were most important in this world were here, exhausted, but fine. They were safe.

He wondered if he would be allowed to stay.

Shachi took the decision out of his hand though, as he suddenly crawled on the bed and spread out above the covers next to Law, his arms folded behind his head.

“What are you doing?” Law asked him perplexedly. Shachi grinned at him.

“Well, you said that I could only do things to Pen if you’re there, too. And right now I wanna do something. Kiss him, I mean, but who knows, maybe even something more?” It was a drastic thing to say, especially this early after they had found to each other, and Penguin counted the seconds in his head as he waited for Law to explode.

Law narrowed his eyes, but eventually shuffled deeper under the covers.

“You fucker,” he growled, but that was all.

He glanced at Penguin and lifted one corner of the covers and Penguin scrambled to slide beneath them. Now lying between the two, one above and one under the covers, it was more than awkward. To be here again, even if he’d once spend the night here, and Shachi observed them silently, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Shachi bend over him, the shadow of his head falling partly onto Law. Penguin swallowed – he remembered the one time they had kissed in front of Law had been a disaster. Would he really be okay with that? He glanced at Law, silently asking him for permission, and tensed when he saw him already watching him.

“Is this really okay with you?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Just do it already,” Law said, but his voice was thick and he watched them like a hawk as Shachi bent even lower and brushed his mouth against his. It was good, and Penguin suppressed a moan as Shachi climbed half atop of him, one knee between his legs, and kissed him senseless.

They parted after a few minutes, both breathless, and Penguin jerked his head around. Law still lay on the same spot, but he had turned on his side, one arm curled beneath his head. His eyes locked onto his, seemingly calm, but the other hand lying on the pillow in front of him was slightly clenched.

“It will take some time to get used to it,” he said in way of explanation.

It was still more than he had ever dared to anticipate and Penguin reached over and pulled him into a kiss, too, stroking his tongue over his bottom lip and dipping it into his mouth. Law tensed only for a moment before he noticeably made an effort to relax. He could still feel the weight of Shachi on him, and a hand on his back which had to belong to him pulling his jumpsuits' zipper down. He pushed a hand into Law’s hair, purely intending to distract him thoroughly, and pulled a few of his hairs. To his surprise, Law moaned into his mouth and he halted for a split second before he grinned into the kiss and pulled them a second time, a bit harder than before. He got the same reaction and felt Shachi slide behind him.

“You’re not giving him a minute rest, aren’t you?” Shachi whispered into his ear and then bit it, making him yelp and interrupt the kiss. Law looked dazed and followed him, pushing his tongue into his mouth and hindered him from answering Shachi.

There were hands everywhere. He couldn’t distinguish every time to which they belonged, even if Shachi’s hands were much rougher than Law’s. But the most distinct difference was the way they handled him – here, one hand slipped under his jumpsuit and along his back, sure motions making it obvious that they belonged to Shachi. There, a tentative finger stroked over a vein at his neck, following it experimentally until it disappeared into his collar. It had to be Law’s, he thought dazedly as he kissed him back languidly, breathing getting ragged against his mouth.

The jumpsuit slipped from his shoulder and Shachi kissed the skin which was exposed to the warm air of the room. Law stroked the inside of his mouth with his tongue, much more demanding then ever before, as if he tried to keep up with the third member of this strange constellation. One hand slipped over his chest and down to his stomach to push the fabric of his shirt away. It dipped shortly into his navel and he chuckled into the kiss out of ticklishness, startling Law out of it.

Law looked down his body, his cheeks flushing as he saw what Shachi was up to. He guessed Shachi grinned at him, at least that what was it felt like against his neck. His hand moved even lower and gripped him through the fabric of his boxers. He gasped directly in Law’s face, suddenly mortified that he could see him come undone while the two of them still hadn’t done much by now. It didn’t seem to bother Law too much though, as he slipped his hand into his hair and pulled him into another kiss.

Lying between these two men had to be a wet dream come true. Penguin could feel Shachi’s hardness pressing against his ass, slowly rubbing himself between the crease of his cheeks, while Law seemed to be intent not to let him breathe, as far as he had his tongue shoved into his mouth. It was hot as hell, especially as Shachi unexpectedly rubbed a particular sensitive spot on his cock while simultaneously biting his ear, his cheek brushing the back of Law’s hand.

He pushed back against Shachi’s cock to get even more friction, greedy as he was, and pulled Law closer by the waist until he lay flush against him, too, and pushed a hand beneath his hoodie. His skin felt hot to the touch and he arched his back into it. It had to be a sensitive spot for him.

He curled his hand into the waistband of Law’s jeans, just holding him there, while Shachi rubbed him a bit faster and harder, and his breathing hitched, he moaned into Law’s mouth, the hand in his hair pulled tightly, and he pushed back against Shachi and forwards to his hand alternately, sucking on Law’s tongue. Heat pooled low in his stomach and he whined, the sensations suddenly too much, until, suddenly, the tension snapped and he came in his boxer shorts.

He panted into Law’s mouth, whose hand still gripped his hair tightly. Shachi petted his stomach just above the line of the boxer shorts, and chuckled into his ear.

“That sure was fast,” he teased.

Penguin had to break away from Law to mumble, “Shut up.”

He stroked the low of Law’s back, who shivered under the touch, and caught his gaze. His throat felt dry. The question if he should reciprocate lay on the tip of his tongue, but instead, he decided to ask something else.

He pressed their noses together.

“How do you want it?”

Law’s pupils dilated and he opened his mouth.

“Um … I,” he started, but he wasn’t able to hold eye contact after that, “maybe you could do that thing … with your tongue again.”

Penguin smirked. Law didn’t know what he did to him when he was like that. He would gladly fulfill each and every one of his wishes.

“All right.” He kissed the tip of his nose. “And anything else?”

Law blushed deeply, burying his cheek into the pillow.

“You could – lie on top of me?”

If that wasn’t a hot thought he didn’t know what was. He pecked him on the lips again before he disentangled himself from Shachi and rolled onto Law, who looked like he was about to run. Shachi didn’t follow him, but instead stretched his hand to let it rest on one of his arms with which he supported himself as he bent over Law.

He wanted to make him feel good. Like, really, really good, so he could set aside his embarrassment and just enjoy the moment. His jumpsuit slipped down even further and he shrugged his arms out of it so it pooled around his waist, revealing the thin tank top he usually wore beneath. Law instantly put his hands on his hips.

The first kiss was a lot more innocent than the last ones, but quickly morphed into something more as Law opened his mouth for him. He didn’t hesitate to push his tongue into his mouth and Penguin began to suck at it like Law had wanted him to, opening his eyes slightly to watch his reaction. And damn, if he had known that he would look like that he would have done so sooner – the look on Law’s face was pure bliss, his cheeks flaming red and eyes closed, and he could feel him growing harder beneath his own hips.

For a split second he regretted getting off so soon because now he couldn’t rub properly against him, but he solved that problem by moving only so slightly, so that Law’s clothed erection slipped into the crease between his hips and one of his legs. He wondered if his weight on top of him felt good to him or why else he could have asked for him to do that.

Shachi slowly stroked his arm while he got Law off and he glanced at him. He hoped that he wouldn’t feel left out, but the smile he got from him erased his worries.

Law’s hands tightened on his hips and he doubled his efforts, slowly rotating his hips against Law’s crotch until he had him trembling, his fingers digging into the skin of his hips. He couldn’t feel his cock very well through the thick fabric of his jeans, but it seemed to be more than enough for Law – in the last few days, he had learned that he was quite sensitive and it didn’t take much to get him off if you played into the things he liked.

Like sucking on his tongue. Good god.

Law’s hips began to press more insistently against his own, trying to catch the rhythm and Penguin followed the little clues he unconsciously gave about what he liked. Like lifting his hips ever so slightly, just to come down again a moment later to renew the sensation. Or the pace, not too fast, but also not torturously slow.

Law tensed and Penguin broke the kiss to watch his face more clearly as he pressed the back of his head into the pillow, eyes tightly closed and mouth open with his tongue still halfway out, his hips moving in quick jerks until he did a full-body shudder. A few seconds later, he seemed to melt into the mattress and Penguin lay more fully down on him, following the urge to cover his body with his own. He pressed his face into Law’s neck and breathed his scent in. He could feel Law’s heart thumping frantically against his chest.

Suddenly, there was a touch on his lower back, where he was still exposed. His tank top had ridden up because of Law’s touches and he shuddered and nuzzled deeper into Law’s neck as Shachi began to stroke the curve of his spine and hooked a finger under his waistband.

“What’s your plan?” he asked Shachi, breathing against Law’s warm skin. He wondered if he wanted to go all the way tonight, but he didn’t want to scare Law with something like that so soon.

“Dunno,” he could practically hear the smirk out of Shachi’s voice, “what do you think, Law? What should I do with Pen?”

He felt him tense beneath him and two long arms came around him. Law cleared his throat.

“I think that should be your decision.” God, his voice still had that hoarse quality to it.

“What about this then?”

Shachi tugged at him and he lifted himself off of Law. He pulled the covers tighter over him because he didn’t want him to feel any colder now that he wasn’t lying on top of him, and looked at Shachi curiously.

Shachi wasted no time – he guessed that he was a bit frantic after first getting Penguin off and then watching him and Law – and shrugged out of his jumpsuit with no shame whatsoever, until he was in the same state of undress as Penguin. Grinning, he spread his legs.

“How about it?” he asked him.

Penguin licked his lips. It felt like ages since he had done something like that with him. He knew that Law watched them, still hazy while he came down from his high, and some part of him couldn’t help but feel turned on. He shuffled down until his face was at the same level as Shachi’s underwear, and tentatively put his hands on it.

Shachi propped himself up on his elbows and watched him while he began to stroke him through his boxer shorts, a similar motion like he had done to him. He could feel him grow to hardness again. What would Law think about this? He had blown him before one time and it had seemed to be very good for him, but he knew that it probably wouldn’t look very erotic from the outside, what with all the saliva and embarrassing noises he would make.

But it was more important to spoil Shachi, so after a short time he pulled his boxer shorts down and took his cock in his hand. He heard a sharp intake of breath, but ignored it, and licked the tip to get a taste of the salty drop which had gathered there. Sucking the head into his mouth, he got a hold of Shachi’s hips to still them so he couldn’t accidentally push them further into his mouth, and watched the way his flat stomach muscles quivered. Clearly, Shachi had anticipated this just as he had.

He licked the entire length of his cock once, twice, before he swallowed him nearly to the root, sliding him deep into his mouth until it hit the back of his throat and grasped the base to jerk him off in the same rhythm as his mouth dipped down and came up again, tongue flat against the underside. He noticed every spasm that run through his body and after a while one of Shachi’s hands landed on top of his head. He didn’t push him down, just stroked his hair and murmured something which he couldn’t understand, even if he could guess what it was.

Their relationship had always been a comfort to him. And now, as he felt his legs spreading further for him, harsh breath coming from his best friend over him, he thought that maybe, maybe, things would be alright again. He wanted to feel him even closer than he already was and pressed further down against him, taking as much as he could into his mouth, each thrust touching the back of his throat and pressing the tiniest bit into it, until Shachi’s hand in his hair tightened, and he suddenly tasted his come on his tongue, thick and not very pleasant, but bearable.

He waited until Shachi’s ragged breath normalized somehow and his hand loosened a bit, and then pulled away to spit the come into the cloth he had previously used to wipe the pipes with.

Shachi pulled him up again. Together, they slipped under the covers next to Law, whose brows were furrowed. Penguin wanted to kiss him, but he probably tasted like Shachi’s come and he didn’t want to disgust him into next week. Law seemed to have other ideas though and pulled him down into a kiss, startling Penguin.

“Wait, I-”

“I know. I don’t care,” Law said and licked his lips after he had released him, “it tastes strange.”

Penguin laid his head down onto his shoulder. His boxer shorts felt uncomfortably wet now, but he didn’t want to stand up yet. He had a feeling the mood would be broken then. Shachi cuddled up against his back and sneaked an arm around his waist, brushing against Law in the process. Law looked past Penguin’s shoulder, his gaze unreadable as he exchanged a look with Shachi, and then pressed closer to him, the two of them practically squeezing him in their midst.

He could definitively get used to this feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really curious about what you think about this development.  
> Also, this chapter is around 4,700 words long, which is longer by half than the usual length ^^°


	14. Chapter 14

He couldn’t remember when he had last felt this comfortable. He was lying between his two lovers and wondered what he did in his previous life to deserve both of them. Of course, he didn’t delude himself as to think that all was well between the three of them and they would ride into the sunset after all that had happened. He was still slightly angry at Law for abusing his position as captain over him and stripping him of his rank.

But he guessed the discussion about that could wait for a while longer. For now, he was content to lie with his head tucked into the crook of Law’s neck, breathing in the mix of sweat and copper he had begun to associate with him, while Shachi was pressed against his back, his breath tickling his neck.

After a few minutes, they all seemed to have come down from their highs and the mess in Penguin’s pants began to get uncomfortable. Still, he didn’t even so much as twitch. Law nuzzled his nose into his hair, the warmth of his chest intermingling with his own.

This was what peace had to feel like.

Shachi was the first to move. He slowly disentangled himself from Penguin, removing his arm, which had been thrown over his waist, and shuffled backwards until his feet hit the floor. The mattress moved with him and Law’s fingers pressed harder into the small of his back.

“Is it alright if I use your shower?” Shachi asked. Law grumbled something which sounded distantly approving.

Penguin heard him walk through the room and close the door to the bathroom behind himself. He had a feeling he should use this moment to talk to Law in private, but he didn’t even know where to start.

“Stop overthinking,” Law’s voice said over his head. “That’s my part and I’ve done enough of that in the last few days.”

Penguin chuckled.

“You’re mean. I’m capable of thinking myself, you know?”

Law tilted his head until he was able to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah? Then tell me your thoughts.”

Penguin flushed. It had been meant as a joke, but Law was clearly interested in what he had to say. That, and he looked very kissable with his hair mussed as it was and the last remnants of a flush on his face.

“I’m – I’m just really happy, you know,” he began, not sure if this was the right way to go. “That you’re willing to make a sacrifice like this to continue our relationship. But,” he bit his lip, as he thought of something which had bothered him since he had woken up, “I’m not sure why you’ve had such a change of heart.”

Would those words cause him to backpedal suddenly? He was mostly sure that this was just him overthinking, but you could never be too sure, couldn’t you? Was Law really okay with this?

Law pecked the side of his mouth, his lips lingering.

“I guess it was at that one moment,” he murmured against his mouth, “when I suddenly saw you lying on the floor. For a split second I didn’t know if you were okay. There was no reason to believe that you weren’t – I mean, there was nothing on the ship which could have hurt you fatally. But still, I was worried. I guess I realized at that moment that regardless of what happened between us we should overcome it.”

It shouldn’t be possible, but as Law said those words he fell in love with him even more. He opened his mouth, his throat tight.

“I – I hope it’s okay if I say that now, but,” he trembled and tried to hold the eye contact, even when it began to become awkward, “you know, I love you.”

Law visibly swallowed. His pupils had shrunken into tiny dots, his lips against his mouth unmoving. Finally, he whispered, “Thank you.”

It wasn’t the answer he had hoped for, but Penguin accepted it nonetheless, ignoring the pang these words caused in his chest. Law simply wasn’t the type for heartfelt declarations and lying here like this was more than enough. He listened to the sounds of Shachi showering next door until he heard him turn off the water.

Law had begun to move his mouth slightly against his, almost too tiny movements to call it a kiss. Neither of them were particularly inclined to deepen it though and Penguin basked in the feeling of the infinitesimal shudders which rolled down his back.

The door opened and a cloud of steam followed Shachi, who had pulled his jumpsuit on again. He had his discarded shorts in his hand and put them out of sight, reminding Penguin that he was probably going commando beneath his work clothes.

He sat on the bed again, back half turned to the other two, and smiled lopsidedly at them.

“You two are really sweet, you know that?” was the first thing he said. Law pulled Penguin closer, his face so near to his own that he could see the tiny imperfections of his skin, slightly fairer patches running across his cheeks.

“We should set out soon,” Law said, completely unrelated. “I’m sure the warship will have sent out a distress signal and in a few hours the place will be swarming with them. I want to bring as much distance as possible between us by then.”

“What about the city? Didn’t you want to explore it some more?”

“Of course I do. But not at risk for our lives. Besides, we’ve wasted enough time here.” His hands tightened. “We have to get to Wa No Kuni soon.”

Penguin’s stomach dropped. Of course, their destination hadn’t changed. But what about Law’s intention to leave the crew? Would he still leave them behind after everything that happened? The question lay on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask it. Instead, he kissed him again, this time deeper, until Law pushed him off.

“I really should go to the bridge and give my commands.”

He sat up and tried to flatten his hair and reached for his hat as it continued to stand in all directions. The mattress dipped as Shachi put one of his knees on it and crawled to Penguin, his skin still damp from the shower and his hair dripping. Law sent him a glare.

“I’m leaving now,” he stated. “Don’t think about doing anything while I’m not here. Actually,” he turned around to them once more, “I don’t see any reason why I should leave you here – it’s my room, after all.”

“You don’t have to repeat yourself all the time, Law. We have a deal and I’m not about to break it.” Shachi stretched, but made no move to leave the bed yet. He grinned. “Also, ya sure hold my stamina in high esteem, I can’t get it up again this fast.”

Penguin groaned because of the uncalled for innuendo, but Law seemed to be satisfied with that. After gathering his sword from where it leaned against the wall, he left his quarters to the two of them.

“Huh. He trusts us,” Shachi said after a moment. Penguin wondered if he had earned that trust back again yet. He suppressed the urge to peck him on the lips and disentangled himself from his still moist body.

“I’m gonna take a shower.”

 

Half an hour later the two of them emerged on the bridge, hair still damp. They had made a detour to the laundry, dumping their boxer shorts beneath a few other clothes, slight awkwardness remaining between the two like a thin sheet separating them. Now that they had defeated the enemy warship, there were only a few people on the bridge and they were still busy refilling the air tanks. Law was silently speaking with Bepo and Robin and looked up as they entered.

Would he believe that they hadn’t done anything with each other? But he wouldn't have left them if that weren’t the case. Penguin straightened his shoulders and strutted over to him, a bit closer than was strictly necessary, but still not so close as to raise suspicion. Law slightly turned his body to him and his stomach somersaulted.

“The air tanks should be full in twenty minutes,” Bepo explained. “We should dive again and take this route here.” One of his paws pointed somewhere on the map lying before them and followed a straight path over it. Their destination was a distant speck in the far corner of it, surely still a few weeks away.

Law nodded, but his posture was stiff.

“Did you check whether there are other ships in the vicinity yet?” he asked and Bepo shook his head. “I didn’t have time yet, but I’ll do so immediately, captain!”

He saluted and turned around to handle the radar, making space for Robin who leaned over the map, her long hair falling over one of her shoulders. Law sighed and pinched his nose.

“Are you okay?” Penguin whispered, hopefully silent enough that Bepo wouldn’t hear him over the overall noise of the submarine. Law just sent him a tired look. He still had to be exhausted from his earlier display of power – just because he could slice apart an entire warship like that didn’t mean that kind of attack came easy to him. Penguin bit his lip, but managed to hold his gaze. “Sorry I asked. Want to lie down when we’ve escaped?”

Law nodded, just a tiny movement of his head.

“Uh captain ...” Bepo began uneasily. “It seems we have a problem.”

Both Law and Robin whirled around and he demanded, “Spit it out, Bepo!”

“There’s another one, just ten miles away from us. And,” he gulped, “the radar indicates that it’s underwater.”

Penguin watched as Law tensed up even more, the curve of his spine straightening as if a rod was inserted there, hair on his neck standing up. He shoved Bepo to the side and stared at the radar. Penguin couldn't see it from his position, but he could guess how it looked because the pitch of the radar got faster by the minute.

“A submarine?”

They had never encountered another one – Penguin hadn’t thought that the Marine even possessed one, but he knew that Bepo rarely made a mistake.

“Close the air tanks,” Law commanded. “We’ll make off as fast as we can.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Bepo saluted and a few moments later Penguin could feel the Polar Tang submerging again, the floor slightly tilting due to the rash maneuver of their navigator. As he looked at the radar he could see the other ship gaining speed and closing in on them and he moved to Law and put a hand on his back, not able to hold back the spike of anxiety coiling in his stomach.

“Will they be able to follow us?” Robin asked. 

“I certainly hope they won’t.”

He looked pale. Penguin knew, if they were forced to fight again their chances would be a good deal worse than before. It was most probable that the Marine knew who their enemy was now and they would come prepared. On top of that they hadn’t anything to fight against a submarine except a few torpedoes, their individual power didn’t matter beneath the surface and one good hit could be their end. The hours spend deep down in the trench didn’t help with the feeling of claustrophobia bubbling up in him. He wondered if Law felt the same.

Something touched the back of his hand.

It was Law’s, the inked letters on his fingers a stark contrast in the eerie light on the bridge. He watched as they closed around his own, just a short touch before they retreated again. As he looked up, Law had already turned his back on him, watching the radar closely.

“Their submarine is way bigger than ours,” Bepo said to the captain, sweat matting his fur. “There’s no way we can fight against that.”

“Then make sure we don’t have to.”

Bepo nodded, as if he were able to summon some hidden powers of the Polar Tang which he hadn’t used before. The submarine gained speed. He couldn’t see it directly due to the lack of anything to measure their velocity, but he could make out the vibrating of the motors beneath his feet, translating into a tremor in his fingers. Law’s own hand was too far away to grab it inconspicuously and he made do with watching it hanging at his side, imagining the feel of his fingers against his waist just a short while ago.

The Marine was still following them, the fact only indicated by the grating beep of the radar. Nobody spoke a word. They all knew they were doomed if they caught up with them. Shachi positioned himself beside him, not close enough to feel his warmth, but simply there.

Suddenly, there was a faint rumble.

Penguin held his breath and tried to identify were it came from, his heart pumping viciously in his heart. The Polar Tang lurched as if propelled from another source, like a wave hitting them from behind and pushing them trough the ocean.

“What just happened?”

“I’m not sure!” Bepo tipped frantically on the navigating board. “There is something interfering with the radar – no, wait.” He leaned over the radar. “They fell behind, but – it seems they’ve just thrown one of their torpedoes down on the city.”

In the silence which ensued due to the lack of the radar’s noise Penguin knew that the Marine had accomplished their true goal. Law staggered to the side. Penguin rushed to his side to prop him up, but Law batted his hand away, even when he leaned heavily against the steel walls, face white as a sheet.

“Do you think the library is still intact?” he asked to no-one in particular. Maybe to Robin, who had gone still as a statue.

Bepo shook his head.

“Have you seen the size of this submarine? Their weapons won’t be something to underestimate and the shock wave indicates a huge explosion.”

Law stared straight ahead.

“Damn them,” he whispered.

There was no way for Penguin to understand how he had to feel in this moment, but with the amount he knew about his past he could get an inkling of it. It was like history repeated itself, over and over, as Law had lamented to him not so long ago. The Marine ensured that incriminating knowledge got destroyed, any evidence of what had happened here centuries ago lost forever. The few books they had managed to rescue were like a precious treasure now, journals of a lost time.

Why did they destroy it only now? Was it their arrival which triggered the attack or had they simply not bothered with it, secure in the knowledge that no-one would be able to reach the city this deep down?

They would never know.

Law trotted past him, a defeated look on his face. The earlier fight had finally taken its toll and nobody interfered as he left the bridge. They had left the enemy’s submarine far behind. Secure now as they were, it still didn’t feel like a victory.

Penguin followed him, as did Shachi. They kept their distance though, as they walked behind Law through the empty hallways. Had it felt like this, all those years ago? He shuddered thinking of a young Law, barely old enough to take an interest in the profession of his parents, hiding himself beneath a wagon full of corpses in the knowledge that he could easily become one of them. Penguin had never heard of Flevance, his home city. There was no history book to tell of it as far as he knew, as far as Law had told him. What had happened there was also buried.

The same as in this merfolk’s city.

As they arrived at the captain’s quarters Law pushed the door open and left it ajar, a clear invitation. Both of them followed through and watched him throw his sword away, pull his hoodie over his head and crawl under the sheets until not even a hair peeked out. Shachi threw him a look. He seemed to be as helpless as he felt.

But he was the first one to actually _move_ , as he unzipped his jumpsuit, slid it off until only the undershirt remained (god, he really had gone commando), and slipped beneath the sheets. Law yelped, but that was the only sound he made and suddenly Penguin stood alone in the midst of the room like he was the outsider. There was only one strangely formed lump where the two were hiding, conspicuously close.

A part of him wanted to applaud Shachi for his brashness. The other, infinitely greater part of him wanted to run because there was no way Law would just let him cuddle him half-naked.

A few moments passed. Nothing stirred.

 _What the hell_ , Penguin finally thought, stripped himself as fast a he could and knelt on the foot of the bed. He lifted the covers only as far as he needed to slip his head beneath them and crawled along one of Law’s legs, entangled with Shachi’s in the warm cocoon they had made. Their breath tickled his face as he finally was level with them, immediately sliding an arm around both of them and pressed against the sweaty skin of Law’s back.

Law had his face pressed into the pillow. It didn’t seem like he could breathe, it already felt difficult to do so with three people underneath the covers and only warming, sticky air in the half-dark around their heads. The lamp on the desk in the far corner lighted the back of Shachi’s head even through the thick covers, his reddish halo dipping their skin in a warm light. Law was utterly still. He didn’t seem to be crying, as his shoulders didn’t move. Penguin wasn’t sure which he would have preferred, but the way it was he was at a loss of what to do to make the situation better. To help.

Shachi caught his gaze, but when he spoke, it wasn’t directed at him.

“I’m angry, too, you know,” he began, “it’s part of the reason I joined this crew all those years ago.”

Penguin remembered this day as clear as if it was yesterday – Law hadn’t been more than sixteen or seventeen years old back then, all gangly limbs and enough anger to last for the three of them, shy Bepo hiding behind him, even if he had already been too tall to pull that off properly. It had been nobody’s dream to become a pirate, neither now nor back then, but circumstances made it necessary. It was easy to get on the World Government’s black list, but escaping and surviving as long as they had not so much. It had been an opportunity.

“It doesn’t change anything what they did just right now. They’ll do it again and again. They’re probably doing it right now, somewhere else. Killing people,” Law tensed and turned his head just slightly, his breaths short and puffy, “stealing their property. Desecrating it. Pulling families apart because they want something from them, more than they can give.”

Penguin pressed himself more firmly against Law’s back, like an anchor, for him, for himself, he didn’t even know anymore. His heart ached and he didn’t know for whom or if it was just a general feeling. This unfairness.

“What you did on Dressrosa was because you wanted to right something you found to be unfair, wasn’t it?” Shachi pressed further. “But this guy you defeated was only a small part of it. They’re still out there, you know. It’s something so big we won’t be able to handle it. We’re less than a tiny bolt in all of this.”

Law drew a shuddering breath.

“I didn’t even defeat him,” he admitted, “the Straw Hat did.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Shachi shook his head. “What mattered is that you tried. You stood up to him. You didn’t accept it in your heart that something unfair like this was allowed to happen. If ya lose your integrity and hide yourself away for the rest of your life, what will you be?”

The following silence was so thick on his ears that he was sure neither of them breathed. Law was utterly still, his lungs not expanding. Then, he turned his head slightly more towards Shachi, regarding him with a calculating look. There was only a short moment when his eyes flicked down to his lips, and then he was leaning forward, slowly as though he pulled himself through water, and pressed his mouth against Shachi’s.

Shachi made a surprised noise, but pressed deeper, eliciting a shudder out of their captain which Penguin could feel beneath the tips of his fingers. Inconspicuously, he shuffled closer and entangled his own legs with Law’s, sharing the sticky warmth between their legs, one naked and one still clad in jeans. He could hear them kissing, slow movements and Law’s hitching breath, and felt a short spike of jealousy rising in him. It immediately ebbed away though as Law’s hand sneaked backwards and grabbed his arm, pulling it around him to hold him close.

His flat stomach quivered were he touched it and the side of his hand brushed his trousers. He was already half hard, from stress or anger or just because Shachi was such a brilliant kisser. But it wouldn’t be right to do something to him in this state of mind.

But it seemed Law had other plans. He shoved his hand further down, making an insistent noise even as Shachi sank his teeth into his lip and shoved his tongue inside his mouth. Penguin’s hesitance didn’t last any further than that and he opened his fly with a few practiced motions and pushed his hand into his trousers. Law jerked, a moan escaping him. He had to be really high strung. Maybe it would help him finally come down, even if he still had to be sensitive from their earlier round.

He stroked him through the thin cotton of his underwear, feeling the swell of him, before he pulled his hand out and pressed two of his fingers against Law’s stubbly chin. Shachi noticed and broke off the kiss, but nuzzled his cheek as Penguin traced Law’s moist lower lip with his index and middle finger. He willingly opened his mouth and Penguin slipped his fingers in, applying light pressure against his tongue. Law’s cheeks flushed and a thin trail of saliva dripped out of his mouth. He really had a thing for this kind of thing and his mind reeled at the thought of what he could do to him-

But tonight would be all about him. Penguin pulled his fingers out again and pulled his underwear down, his already hard cock brushing his hand before he grabbed it and gave it a firm stroke. Law jerked, but his mouth was already being invaded again by Shachi. Penguin palmed the head and spread the small drop of moisture around which had gathered there, ignoring his twitching. Law tried to move his hips, but Penguin held him there with his free hand, the logistics of that making him shuffle around.

The wet sounds of him jerking him off were all the more louder beneath the covers. He could hear Law moaning faintly in Shachi’s mouth, but the sound was muffled. He pushed the fabric of his jeans a bit lower still, until he could hold his bare hips with one hand, applying gentle pressure on his dick while he stroked him into a frenzy. Law had his eyes closed, his hands fisted into the fabric of Shachi’s shirt.

A few more struggles and he was able to slip the jeans down to his knees, shoving one of his legs between Law’s. He stroked down the entire length of his cock, appreciating the weight of it in his hand and squeezed his balls on his way downward. As two of his fingers brushed the sensitive skin between his cheeks Law didn’t even flinch, as far gone as he was. He looked up to see what they were up to and saw that Shachi was using this little trick he had used on him just a few hours before, sucking insistently on his tongue, while he had one of his hands buried in his hair. He knew that Law was really into kissing, but to see him kiss his best friend let his own arousal spike.

As if on cue, Shachi opened his eyes and their gazes met. Penguin’s eyes flicked downward and Shachi followed him. Smirking, he let one of his hands wander over Law’s side, leaving goosebumps in his wake, and circled the tip of his cock with two fingers before he gripped him fully.

Penguin licked his lips and rubbed against the sensitive hole. Law arched into it, probably more an unconscious motion than a deliberate act, but it was all he needed to be finally sure enough to actually take this one step further. His fingers were still slippery from his spit and the drops of precum he was steadily weeping and as he applied just a bit more pressure the tip of his index finger slipped just the tiniest bit in.

He had only rarely done that to Shachi, much preferring to bottom for him. But the noises Law made were just too sweet and he was eager to hear more of them, gently dipping his finger in and out of his body. He didn’t want to hurt him and he was pretty sure that no-one had ever touched him like this and most men would be weirded out by it. Shachi was skillfully jacking him off, distracting him from the slight burn he surely had to feel. Kissing the back of his shoulder he pressed another finger into him, watching his back arch while he slowly fucked him with his fingers.

How could such a severe man come apart this beautifully? Penguin felt his heart clench and squeezed his eyes shut, his forehead pressed against the space between his shoulder blades, just wanting to pleasure him more and more until he came apart. He only wanted this man to be safe – as safe as they could be in a world where they made themselves the enemies.

Law made a choking noise and suddenly came all over Shachi’s hand, clenching around Penguin’s fingers. He trembled and Penguin pressed his forehead firmer against him in the hope of grounding him in the present. He waited a few moments until the pressure around his fingers lessened and then slowly pulled them out.

Law was breathing harshly, the air under the covers smelling of sweat and the sharp tang of his come. Shachi pulled the covers down to their shoulders and the fresh air hit them like a wet blanket. They were all horribly red in the face. Penguin stroked the dip of Law’s hip. Was he okay now? He had initiated it, but maybe he had made a mistake in reciprocating-

Slowly, with much shuffling and groaning as his legs were still trapped half in his jeans, Law turned around to him and buried his face into his chest. Penguin pulled him closer, holding him like a weak thing, while he stroked up and down his back.

There was nothing which could change what happened. There were no cliché words to help. But that was not what mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another longer than usual chapter. Sorry that it took a bit longer than usual, but I'm job-hunting at the moment ^^°


	15. Chapter 15

Deep down in the ocean, the Polar Tang was on its course to Wa No Kuni. 

The atmosphere on the submarine was despondent, silent faces greeting Penguin everywhere he went. He had wanted to speak to a few crew members and maybe lift their spirits, but he wasn’t sure whether it was in his competences to do so since Law had stripped him off his rank. Would he reverse his decision now that they had the chance to have spoken to each other? He knew that he had a lot on his plate and therefore didn’t want to press, but each day that passed felt like a new penalty.

It had been a little over a week since they had left the ruins of the underwater city behind. There was nothing left to get back too, the explosion had been too large. Even if most of the crew didn’t share the special connection Law had had with this city, they all shared a mutual contempt for the World Government and its way of sorting things out. Law had been silent and withdrawn for the last few days and Penguin had tried his best to let him be. Both Shachi and him had cuddled with him the day they had departed, but they also knew that Law would cut them into slices if they overdid it.

Worry coiled in Penguin’s stomach. He was on his way to his own quarters, oil dripping down his fingers from his earlier work and he absentmindedly smeared it off on his jumpsuit.

As he opened the door he found Shachi lying on his bed, already showered and holding a book over his head one-handed.

“Hey,” Shachi greeted him. Penguin nodded at him.

“Sorry, greasy fingers,” he said and held his hands in front of him as he made his way to the bathroom to wash off.

Even as he peeled himself out of his jumpsuit and stepped beneath the shower spray he couldn’t shake off the feeling of dread. Now that they were back on track they would sooner or later clash with Kaido. The outcome was unclear. He was incredibly strong, so much that even Doflamingo was said to fear him, and with the knowledge that their captain hadn’t been able to defeat him – Penguin turned the faucet and let the ice cold water hit him.

Agony. That was what it was. He couldn’t bear thinking about it.

For a while, he pressed his forehead against the cold tiles and let the fear run through him, let it ice his veins until he couldn't feel his face anymore.

A knock sounded on the door. He could hear Shachi’s voice, but not his words, and turned the water off.

“Coming.”

His skin was cold. Harshly, he rubbed himself down and pulled fresh clothes on before he came out of the bathroom to a worried looking Shachi, who instantly patted the spot on the bed next to him. Penguin sat down and Shachi threw an arm around his shoulders.

“Same old?” he asked.

“Same old.”

“Well, nothing we can do about that I guess,” Shachi said as he pulled him closer until they both lay side by side on the bed, “we won’t be able to dissuade him from going after him.”

“I don’t want to do that either. After everything we've told him, that would be hypocrisy.”

“Yeah,” Shachi sighed and leaned his forehead against his collarbone, “you’re probably right.”

He was warm. It was the easiest thing in the world to fall in his embrace and just lie here, feeling all the dips and curves of his familiar body.

“You’re worried about something,” Shachi finally said.

There was nothing in his voice urging him to go on and spill it all, just a stating of a fact tinged in slight curiosity and concern. He knew Shachi would just hold him if he chose not to answer, he wouldn’t try to drill him with questions. There was no logical reason to tell him either. It was hopeless to agonize about that kind of thing and mostly he didn’t, but the world around them seemed to have become harsher in the last few years, their enemies infinitely stronger. There were monsters out there. He wasn’t sure if he was more afraid of them or Law becoming one of them.

“I wonder if we did the right thing. With Law I mean.” It was a whisper in the half-dark of their room. He couldn't see Shachi’s face, but his arms around him tightened for a moment, his breath stuttering over his still moist skin.

“I am also afraid,” Shachi admitted, “but I have no doubt that trying to escape this world would have killed him even sooner. Whatever happens, I’m sure we did the right thing.” He poked him in the side with one harsh finger and Penguin squirmed. “And anyways, it wasn’t our decision. Law didn’t want to leave the crew for a long time. Maybe he never really did. Maybe he just wanted a reason … to stay.”

Penguin chuckled.

“You’re a sap.”

“I don’t mean us, you idiot! I mean – this. This city. These ruins which the Marine destroyed. It hurts him, but it will never go away and he knows that. Hurt can be a powerful tool, ya know.”

Penguin nodded, hurt throbbing in his chest and he rolled over until Shachi lay beneath him and he was able to bury his face into the soft fabric of his shirt, his arms going around him. He knew that. He just wished for Law never to have felt any of this hurt, even though that would mean he would still live in a city made of beautiful white stone, maybe working in a hospital alongside his parents. He would have made a fantastic doctor.

There were so many lives destroyed, so many opportunities lost.

“Pen, stop it.” Shachi’s voice cut through the fog in his head. “It’s okay to feel sad. But it’s hopeless to think about those what-ifs, too.”

“Yeah.”

“Come on. Just let me hold you for a while.” He embraced him, until he was smothered in warmth and kindness and this earthy scent which was entirely Shachi. His best friend. His lover.

Briefly, he wondered what Law would say if he saw the two of them intertwined like this. A pang shot through his heart – he’d probably be jealous. Was it really okay for Shachi to only be allowed to be this close to him under certain circumstances? They had tried to be more mindful of Law’s feelings, but Shachi was as equal in this relationship as him. Or at least he should be.

“You know, I don’t like this arrangement,” he said after a while. “It’s not fair to you.”

Shachi’s breath swirled through his hair as he laughed, silent chuckles vibrating in his chest.

“Yeah, it isn’t. But I don’t care. At least not for a while.” He kissed the top of his head and Penguin let the ensuing shivers run down his back, trickles of pleasure. “Ya know, it hasn’t been easy for Law, I can give him that. And if it eases his mind to lay down those ridiculous rules I can bend to them for a while. But not for too long.”

“What if he insists on those rules though?”

“He won’t.”

Penguin snorted, but cuddled closer.

“I wonder where you get all of this confidence.”

 

A few days later in the evening, their captain called the crew together to make an important announcement. Unease coiled in Penguin’s stomach as he remembered the last time that had happened, he had lost his rank and a lot of respect between him and Law that day. They were on better terms now, but he couldn’t help feeling anxious.

Shachi slipped his hand into his, squeezing lightly before letting go. They didn’t want to make their relationship public in front of the crew. Penguin was sure that there were many relationships between the crew members and even had an inkling about some of them, but it was better not to get involved in any drama.

The common room was nearly empty as they arrived. Law stood on the side, looked up as they entered and sent Penguin a small smile, which instantly calmed him. If he smiled like that at him things couldn’t be too bad. Maybe he just wanted to tell them of a change of their route (Penguin hoped so. He didn’t want to put his life on the line just yet).

In the next few minutes, the rest of the crew showed up and Penguin leaned against the wall next to Law and Shachi. The former had dark circles under his eyes, even though they had spent the last days together. It hadn’t escaped his attention that the book from the lost city still lay open on his desk, studded with little markers and the desk cluttered with pages on pages of notes in Law’s neat cursive handwriting. Both he and Shachi were worried about him, but the peace and newfound balance between them was yet too fragile to disrupt.

The last crew member came in and Law pushed himself off the wall.

“I have an announcement to make,” he said, gaze level as he looked around. “A few weeks ago I took the rank of your fellow comrade, Penguin. When I did so, I had my reasons.” Penguin’s heart pounded. His hands, hidden behind his body, pressed against the wall and he forced himself not to look at Law, but his own comrades. Most of them regarded him with concern, obviously fearing something worse than him just losing his rank. A part of Penguin did, too. Surely Law wouldn't do something like that now? Surely he wouldn’t abuse his position this way again, especially where he couldn’t see any reason to? “As of now,” Law turned around to him and looked him straight in the eye, and that was when he heard the only waver in his voice, “Penguin will be once again the second-in-command.”

The common room was nearly silent. It seemed as if nobody knew what to make of this. Penguin didn’t either – he had expected Law to give him back his rank sooner or later, but to do so in front of his entire crew was practically telling everyone that he had made a mistake last time. It was like an apology.

He didn’t trust his voice yet, therefore he bent his head only by an inch, a small nod indicating that he’d understood. Law stared at him for a second or two, and then turned away from him to address the crew anew.

“That is all. Please return to your duties now.”

The room cleared only slowly, some of the crew members lingering to get a look at Penguin, who tried to press himself into the space behind Shachi.

Shachi frowned at Law. Penguin knew a storm was brewing, but then Shachi already began to speak.

“Seriously?” he asked Law as finally the last of their comrades had left the common room. “You had your _reasons_?”

Law met his gaze, but dropped it when Shachi didn’t let himself be intimidated.

“I didn’t say they were good.” He came over to them and reached for Penguin, but Shachi interposed, arms crossing in front of his body as he glared at him. Penguin wanted to interfere, but the thunder-like expression on Shachi’s face let him pause.

“Let me make one thing clear,” he began. “You’re our captain and therefore I have no business in telling ya what to do. And most times I don’t have to, ‘cause you’re a damn good captain.” He took a deep breath. “But if you’re planning on doing this kinda bullshit every time Pen and you have a problem with each other, I’ll do something against it.”

It seemed like he wanted to say even more, but Penguin used the pause in his speech to push around him and lay a hand on his arms. Both men switched from glaring at each other to look at him instead.

“Come on, guys,” Penguin gulped, “I don’t want you to fight.”

“Of course you don’t!” Shachi put his hand on Penguin’s. “But-”

“I’ll try to better myself,” Law spoke quietly and Penguin froze. The coldness had vanished out of his eyes and made place for even more tiredness as he slouched slightly, not quite meeting any of their eyes. “I can’t promise you that I won’t make mistakes in the future. But I’ll try not to do anything like that again. I know it was wrong.”

Penguin watched as all of Law’s usual posture seemed to shrink into itself, making him look smaller than he usually was. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched Law’s shoulder. Law leaned ever so slightly towards him and he took that as a sign of pulling him into an embrace, feeling the weight of his body against his own. A moment later, Shachi hugged both of them. It was hard to breathe, but Penguin didn’t care as he buried his face in the hollow of Law’s neck.

All of this felt new and raw to him. They were only human, even if he tended to forget it sometimes. There wasn’t any place to be selfish, and if he had learned something in the past few weeks, it was that he had to listen in equal parts as he had to made himself be heard.

“Wanna have a coffee?” Shachi murmured against Law’s neck. Law pressed himself even more against both of them and nodded. “Come on, it’s already late. So how about I’ll bring you this coffee and you and Penguin go on ahead?”

They parted ways, and while Shachi went into the kitchen to get the promised coffee, Penguin and Law made their way to the captain’s quarters. The air in it was stale like everywhere. They hadn’t resurfaced for quite a while now. There were still several mugs on Law’s desk, as well as the books they had salvaged. So he was still working on it.

He sent a look at Law’s back, but didn’t say anything. Hopefully, he would be able to catch up on some sleep now that they were here.

Someone knocked on the door and Shachi came in without waiting for an answer, carrying a single cup of coffee. Penguin was glad that he’d decided on that instead of bringing the whole can. Even though Law was capable of sleeping with a shit ton of caffeine in his system, it probably wasn’t advisable to do so. Law eyed the cup distastefully, but took it anyway. While he took a sip, Shachi glared at the books on the desk.

“Have you already memorized them?” he asked and Law furrowed his brow.

“Of course not. Why do you ask?”

Shachi plucked the now empty cup out of his hands.

“Because you’re working yourself sick,” he said as he steered him to the bed. Law seemed to want to argue, but then Shachi’s expression softened. “I know it’s hard for you to let it go. But reading and rereading the same old books won’t help anyone. So please,” he nodded at the bed, “get some sleep. Alright?”

Law looked like he wanted to argue, but gave in after a moment. He knelt down on the bed and lay down between them. Penguin instantly slipped an arm around him and Law visibly relaxed, tension leaving the hard lines of his shoulders. Shachi threw an arm over both of them.

“That’s better, isn’t it?”

“Maybe,” Law murmured, but didn’t protest any further.

Penguin carded his hand through his hair and watched as Law relaxed even more and closed his eyes. He met Shachi’s gaze over his shoulder. There were only a few days left until they would arrive at their destination. Penguin didn’t know what would await them there, so he decided on making those next days count.

 

The Polar Tang resurfaced five miles ahead of the coast of Wa no Kuni. Penguin stepped up next to Law, who was the first to open the metal doors leading outside. Warm air greeted them, a scent of fresh grass in the air. It smelled like a spring island and something in Penguin relaxed, even if only by a bit, as they marched out onto the deck together. The rest of the crew followed them, sans the few crew members which were still stationed on the bridge.

The sun glistened on the still wet deck, water sloshing down its sides as Law stepped up to the railing and put a hand on it. He had the same cloak on as on Dressrosa, their Jolly Roger painted on his back in bright yellow, his sword leaning over his shoulder as he looked upon the island. The shore was flat, the waters surrounding the island too shallow to dive, and seamed with trees standing in full blossom. From what he’d heard, it was a vast island, so it was no wonder they couldn’t see anything worrying from their vantage point. Still, the beauty of the island was disquieting.

But Law’s back was straight, the white crosses on his sword reflecting the sun, and Penguin couldn’t help but stare.

An arm sneaked around his waist and Shachi breathed in his ear, “Don’t you want to go to him?”

He pushed him gently and Penguin looked back, but it didn’t seem as Shachi wanted to follow him. Instead, he nodded at him and smiled, his jumpsuit removed down to his waist, arms knotted in the front.

One step after another, he approached Law. Was this where their paths divided? He couldn’t imagine Law to play any other role than to be the captain of the Heart Pirates. He wasn’t fearless, but he was brave. Devoted.

Penguin swallowed and positioned himself next to him. Law didn’t move or showed any other signs that he had noticed him, even when he put both pf his hands on the railing. Together, they watched as the Polar Tang slowly maneuvered through the shallow waters in search of a place to stay.

Only when they had gone around a good quarter of the island, a bay appearing in front of them, did Law move and laid a hand on top of his own. He felt cold.

Law continued to look straightforward as he spoke.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. Penguin wasn’t entirely sure for what. “It has been a long journey with all of you and I haven’t regretted any of it.”

So this was it. Some part of him had hoped until the end that Law would change his mind. But as good as he knew his captain – his friend – he knew that he maintained his views.

“Let’s survive this,” Law continued and squeezed his hand. “And turn the world around as far as we’re able to.”

Penguin stared at him. It almost sounded like-

“Does this mean – that you’ll stay?”

There was no hesitation as Law turned around to him, intertwined their fingers and nodded. Penguin felt his eyes burn.

“Yeah. Let’s do our best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end.  
> I hope it didn't feel to abrupt, but there's not much left to tell. The three of them surely have a lot to talk about and have still some issues to solve, but that's a story for another time.  
> Thank you for reading this far :)


End file.
